Is It Still Worth Betting On the Dodgers to Win The NL West?
Value is Value in Our MLB NL West Division Preview
The Los Angeles Dodgers are poised to run away with the 2024 NL West Division this season.
Not only did the Dodgers win the division by 16 games last year, but they added Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among many other superstars, to the roster this MLB season.
The Dodgers aren’t just the team to beat in the NL West. They’re the projected champions heading into March.
However, despite winning the division last year, the Arizona Diamondbacks knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs after earning a Wild Card spot in the MLB Playoffs the previous year. Arizona made it into the World Series but didn’t win it all, losing to the Texas Rangers.
Would it be valuable to bet on the Diamondbacks coming off a World Series?
Below, we’ll break down the NL West Divisional odds and also look at each MLB team’s depth chart and potential for the upcoming season. Let’s get to this MLB NL West Division preview.
The Divisional Odds
As shown below, the Dodgers are heavy favorites to win the NL West.
| NL West | Odds |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | -400 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | +650 |
| San Diego Padres | +800 |
| San Francisco Giants | +850 |
| Colorado Rockies | +12500 |
NL West Team-By-Team Breakdowns
Los Angeles Dodgers (-400)
The Dodgers are the most stacked team in all of MLB.
The lineup will feature Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman to start off each game. The squad also has notable stars like Will Smith and Max Muncy, along with Teoscar Hernandez, who many forget came to the Dodgers in the offseason.
Although Ohtani won’t pitch for the Dodgers this season, Los Angeles will still have Yamamoto, Obby Miller, James Paxton, Emmet Sheehan, and newly acquired Tyler Glasnow.
Glasnow also signed an extension with the Dodgers after being traded in December from the Rays.
Also, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin are all injured. All four of these pitchers have had lots of experience pitching and could each return this season at some point.
The roster doesn’t get more stacked than this. After winning the division easily last year, we’d suggest that -400 isn’t even high enough for the Dodgers. It’s likely one of the best MLB bets today on the board. There’s no such thing as a lock, but the Dodgers are the closest to a lock if it was a thing, per our MLB predictions.
Arizona Diamondbacks (+650)
The Arizona Diamondbacks weren’t even expected to make the postseason last year. Instead, they made the MLB playoffs and pushed themselves all the way into the World Series.
Arizona was the National League’s best team last year.
We’ll see if it was a fluke or not.
The Diamondbacks have some new additions to the lineup. Joc Pederson was acquired in free agency in January, and the Diamondbacks traded for Eugenio Suarez from the Mariners in November. That gave Arizona some more pop in the lineup they desperately needed.
Meanwhile, the starting rotation still features Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Brandon Pfaadt. Those three did a phenomenal job in the postseason last year. But now they’ll be joined by Eduardo Rodriguez, who was acquired as a free agent in December. Ryne Nelson figures to take over the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
Therefore, Arizona looks just as good as last year, if not better. Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Christian Walker will look to carry the offense. While they will be good, it’s still doubtful they will pass the Dodgers in the division through 162 MLB games.
San Diego Padres (+800)
The Padres went all out last year and didn’t even make the playoffs. Therefore, they decided to cut some salary and restart a little bit.
San Diego is far from a rebuild. But they didn’t get better from last year.
The Padres no longer have Juan Soto, now playing for the Yankees. It’s also unlikely the Padres will sign Blake Snell to a deal. He won the Cy Young with them, but his asking price is too high for the Padres, who are, again, trying to shed payroll.
San Diego still has Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, and Ha-Seong Kim. But after those five, the lineup really starts to dip.
The starting rotation is also so much weaker. Pedro Avila and Randy Vasquez are likely going to round out the rotation. Neither has a full year of MLB service time.
San Francisco Giants (+850)
The Giants have wanted to sign high-valued MLB players over the last couple of seasons. But they’ve failed. Instead, the Giants brought in Jung Ho Lee from the KBO and added Jorge Soler as a free agent.
San Francisco has many question marks in the lineup and really no star power whatsoever.
The starting rotation still has potential. Logan Webb will lead a group that is young and highly regarded. Kyle Harrison showed us some stuff last year. Keaton Winn was also given some experience last year.
Right now, Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray are both injured and out after surgeries. So, for now, the Giants have too many question marks to be confident.
Colorado Rockies (+12500)
The Rockies’ starting rotation doesn’t look horrible. Colorado just don’t get a fair shake pitching in Colorado for half of their starts!
They added Cal Quantrill and Dakota Hudson in the off-season and will still have Kyle Freeland and Austin Gomber throwing. Don’t be surprised if Colorado performs better on the road this year than in other seasons.
Still, the offense isn’t projected to be good. Fangraphs, for example, doesn’t have a single batter in the lineup hitting 25+ home runs despite playing many games in Coors Field.
That’s a problem and one of the many reasons they’re last in the MLB NL West Division preview and MLB division standings.
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