MLB Season Specials: Best Record

We’re fewer than 25% of the way through the 2023 MLB regular season but, already, some teams have started to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. The Tampa Bay Rays (29-9) have gotten off to a historically great start after winning their first 13 games, and they look primed to continue to dominate into the summer and fall.

In the NL, the Atlanta Braves (25-12) have flipped the script on the NL East and have established their own massive lead over a month into the new campaign, emerging as MLB leaders of the East.

But, they play 162 games for a reason and there is an enormous amount of time for the Rays and Braves to slide into slumps and for the teams behind them to get hot and close the gap.

Teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros are all decent picks to have the best MLB record when things are all said and done with this season.

So, let’s take a look at some of the best value picks, based on the MLB odds, if you want to bet on who will wind up being the top team in all of baseball.

Atlanta Braves (+190) and Tampa Bay Rays (+220)

Of course, the MLB teams with the best records in the NL and AL, respectively, right now are the odds-on favorites to have the most wins come October. But, considering how tough both of their divisions are — the NL East features the star-laden yet struggling Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets while every team in the AL East is currently above .500 — and how early it is in the season, the value just isn’t there for either of these teams if you want MLB bets today.

Plus, Atlanta’s starting rotation will be without Kyle Wright and Max Fried for a significant period of time. Tampa Bay is relatively healthy and has been dominant on the mound and at the plate but the Rays’ lineup is bound to regress. The Tampa Bay Rays have also feasted on below-.500 teams so the schedule will tighten up.

Los Angeles Dodgers (+550)

Getting the Dodgers at +550 to have the best MLB record feels like an outright steal. They’re already 23-15 after a slow start to the year and are beginning to fire on all cylinders. The top of the lineup with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith might be the best in baseball and the rotation — headlined by the ageless Clayton Kershaw who has been on-point thus far — is very strong despite some injuries.

The Dodgers always manage to fill out their lineup and rotation with unheralded guys who just manage to produce, like James Outman and Evan Phillips.

So, there might not be a team in baseball as consistently deep as Los Angeles which bodes well for a long season. The concern with the Dodgers is that the San Diego Padres will steal some wins away yet this year’s balanced schedule reduces that concern. Los Angeles is just as good as ever.

Toronto Blue Jays (+1200)

It’s risky to take the Blue Jays (21-16) with the Rays and Yankees, and even the Orioles and Red Sox, in the same division but the talent on Toronto’s roster is too good to ignore. Matt Chapman is tearing the cover off the ball, Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are doing their normal things, and proven commodities like George Springer and Brandon Belt haven’t hit their strides yet.

What’s holding this team back is the rotation. There are plenty of reliable veteran arms who can churn through innings for John Schneider but Toronto needs Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman to pitch like No. 1 starters if the Blue Jays are ever going to catch the Rays. That’s not a crazy big ask, yet it’s not something that can just be assumed.

New York Yankees (+1400) and Houston Astros (+1500)

Even though they have had a cavalcade of injuries to their pitching staff and lineup — Aaron Judge only recently returned from an IL stint — the Yankees (21-17) find themselves in a pretty good position. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they are currently in last place in the brutally tough AL East.

Don’t expect that to be the case for much longer but it does show how New York (as well as Toronto and Tampa Bay) have tough roads to possibly being holding the best MLB record.

The Yankees’ bullpen (even down multiple key relievers) has been the key to New York’s success thus far and has propped up a rotation that — after Gerrit Cole — isn’t too imposing. As New York gets healthier, though, look for this team to climb back toward MLB’s elite. +1400 is too good a value to not at least put a little action on such a talented team.

The Astros, New York’s postseason rival, have gotten off to a rough start and are currently 19-18 after winning the World Series last fall. They’ve lost Luis García for the season to Tommy John surgery and are currently without another key starter in José Urquidy, yet Houston has a lot of rotation depth — rookie Hunter Brown looks like a star — and the lineup is very solid up top despite José Altuve’s absence.

Right now, Houston looks like a team that is biding its time until Altuve returns in early June. The Astros will be fine and still have the starting pitching, offensive power, and back-of-bullpen arms to roll off dominant stretches of play. There’s a reason this team has dominated the AL for over half a decade. They’ll be fine.

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• Major League Baseball Tuesday Recap: Ohtani, Angels Fail to Get Needed Win
• Major League Baseball Monday Recap: Division Leaders Producing Profit for Bettors
• Recap of MLB Weekend Results: Home Teams Continue to Disappoint Bettors
• MLB Thursday Betting Recap: Underdogs Rule the Day
• MLB Wednesday Recap; Royals Win Big For Books