MLB AL Central Odds: Twins the Team to Beat

The MLB AL Central odds have Minnesota as prohibitive favorites to win the division. The MLB Central standings paint a slightly different picture, so there is decent value to be had. The Twins lead the division, but just by one game. Minnesota’s odds don’t quite match how they’ve played so far. But there’s a good reason the Twins are solid favorites.

The Tigers are in second place in the division but are the fourth-longest shot to win. The Guardians are second in the betting, followed by the White Sox. Kansas City is a distant fifth and deservedly so.

Minnesota Twins -250

The Twins haven’t exactly been tearing it up, sporting a 27-26 record through May 28. But the Twins do have better offense and pitching than their AL Central foes. The Twins are No. 2 in team ERA in all of Major League baseball. Only the Houston Astros have a lower mark. Minnesota has three solid starters in Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, and Sonny Gray. Bailey Ober has pitched well so far this season.

The Twins lead the division with 240 runs scored. The White Sox are second with 230, so the offense isn’t a strong suit of the AL Central. The Twins are the only team in the division to have a positive scoring margin at +42. With that number, the Twins should have won a few more games. But the team has had a bit of bad luck. Even though the Minnesota Twins have just a one-game lead in the division, the MLB AL Central odds are pretty fair. The Twins should be able to extend their lead as the season goes on and take the division.

Cleveland Guardians +385

The Cleveland Guardians are the only team in the AL Central that can give the Twins a battle in pitching. The Guardians are No. 8 in MLB in team ERA. But the Guardians have one big problem. They don’t score. Cleveland has tallied 174 runs so far this season. That’s fewer than the Oakland A’s, which is all you need to know about Cleveland’s offense. The pitching is solid. But you can’t continue to ask your pitching staff to win 3-2 type games. If Cleveland’s offense doesn’t pick up, it’s going to be a long summer for the Guardians.

Chicago White Sox +800

On paper, the White Sox have a pretty decent pitching staff. But it hasn’t played out that way on the field. Chicago is No. 26 in team ERA, with guys like Lance Lynn and Dylan Cease struggling. Chicago is pretty close to average offensively. But the Sox aren’t good enough to overcome shoddy pitching. Offensively, Luis Robert Jr. has hit the ball well, but he needs a bit more help.

The White Sox have really struggled on the road, where they’re 10-20. The White Sox are going to need some players to revert back to form in a hurry before they play their way out of contention. The MLB AL Central odds on the Sox look a bit enticing but Chicago deserves to be that high.

Detroit Tigers +1400

The Tigers are just one game behind the Twins but aren’t getting much respect in the MLB odds here. A closer look at the team shows it’s easy to understand why. Despite going 25-26, the Tigers have been outscored by 48 runs. Detroit has the run differential of a 21-30 team, not a team flirting with .500.

The Tigers don’t hit the ball all that well and are a little below average in pitching. Detroit may be close to the division lead now. But the Tigers look to be a team ripe to come back to earth a little bit as the season progresses.

Kansas City Royals +25000

The only good thing you can say about the Royals is they play in a fairly weak division. If Kansas City played elsewhere it would be more than 11.5 games behind the division leader. Kansas City’s hitting stinks and the pitching is even worse. Only Oakland has a higher team ERA than the Royals. Kansas City is the second-worst team in baseball right now and hasn’t shown anything to indicate that will change.

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