Major League Baseball and the beginning of the regular season is nearly upon us. The American League Central is considered by many to be one of the better divisions in baseball and there is an overwhelming favorite to win that 5-team race — the Detroit Tigers. Currently the 2013 American League Central Betting Odds have the Detroit Tigers favored at -300 at TheGreek.com.
The -300 betting odds for the Tigers makes them the heaviest favorite in any division in baseball right now.
Detroit Tigers (-300) American League MVP and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera leads the Tigers into the 2013, fresh off an appearance in the World Series. Certainly Detroit will be looking to get back to the Fall Classic again, but this time be able to best the National League and win a championship. With Prince Fielder hitting behind him and designated hitter Victor Martinez back in the lineup, Detroit will give opposing pitching staffs an absolute nightmare every night. Don't forget about the pitching staff, either. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer make up one of the better 1-2 combos in the big leagues and re-signing Anibal Sanchez gives Detroit one of the best rotations in baseball. Torii Hunter will be huge for this team and will be one of the better free agent signings in all of baseball.
Chicago White Sox (+550) The White Sox are the second favorite to win the division, but they are a distant second place, paying 5.5 to 1 for a division title. Unlike most of the teams in the AL Central, the White Sox did little to improve themselves from last season. Chris Sale proved he can be an ace and the White Sox rewarded him with a huge contract extension. Jake Peavy and Gavin Floyd have to be much better for the Sox. Alex Rios has a monster contract and Paul Konerko can still hit a fastball and both need to have consistent seasons in 2013. The Sox will have to replace A.J. Pierzynski, who hit 27 home runs last season. And Adam Dunn strikes out at an alarming rate, still. They will certainly have to overachieve to knock off Detroit.
Kansas City Royals (+650) Kansas City definitely improved their pitching rotation in the offseason. Every teams in the league wanted James Shields but the Royals were able to land him and he steps into the AL Central looking to do some damage. Also coming over from the Rays was Wade Davis. Crafty left-hander Bruce Chen was the only guy to win double digit games for the Royals last year, but now he won't have to face an opposing ace every night. The Royals have one of the better rotations in the American League, but nobody really knows it yet. They also picked up Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie. Offensively they are led by Billy Butler, who is as consistent a hitter in the league and youngster Alex Gordon is going to be a star. Eric Hosmer needs to rebound from a bad 2012 and Mike Moustakas' growth could be the key to their overall season offensively.
Cleveland Indians (+1200) At 12/1 odds, The Greek is telling you that the Indians are going to struggle this season. However, expect them to have a lot of value with those odds. New skip Terry Francona takes over a team that had a major overhaul. The most surprising move of the offseason was Cleveland signing Michael Bourn to a heft contract. They also added Drew Stubbs, Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds to name a few. Cleveland certainly appears to be wanting to change the face of the franchise and with many new faces, that won't take long. They lose Shin-Soo Choo but feel they have a much more balanced team heading into this season. Carlos Santana needs to bounce back from an ugly 2012 and now that there are some bats around him, he should have a good season. But the Indians will only go as far as their rotation takes them. Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez have to have great seasons.
Minnesota Twins (+2000) Yep, 20/1 odds for the Twins. That comes from essentially doing nothing in the off-season and losing both Denard Span and Ben Revere to free agency. Both departures will be huge for Minnesota. Their rotation is just bad with Scott Diamond being the ace and well, that's about it. Lots of question marks regarding the Twins' pitching. Joe Mauer played in nearly 150 games last season and will be seeing time at first base in addition to catching. He's one of the best pure hitters in the game but Justin Morneau hasn't been great lately. Josh Willingham led the team with 35 bombs last season but remember, the Twins won just 66 games last season and that's just not going to get anything done. Minnesota did nothing to improve themselves during the off-season and everyone else in the league (despite the Sox) did. It's going to be a long season for the Twins.
New York Yankees 2013 Betting Odds
What MLB bettors need to know about the New York Yankees upcoming 2013 baseball season, with insight from Johnny Detroit, Bryan Leonard and host Steve Fezzik.