Baseball is a beautiful—albeit complicated—game to predict. On any night, the worst team in the sport can beat the best team 11–0 without anyone even batting an eye. Yet, the top teams always seem to make it through the marathon season with the greatest chance to win it all. Let’s look at three favorites to win the 2023 World Series.
1) Tampa Bay Rays
It’s impossible to ignore how well the Tampa Bay Rays are playing to start the 2023 season. In a stacked division against four formidable foes, the Rays stand alone after their astonishing start.
With their track record of success in the past decade and their staggering play at Tropicana Field, they will be a tough out come October with home-field advantage.
The average fan might scoff at the star power of the Rays’ offense. Still, players like Harold Ramirez, Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe, and Taylor Walls are fantastic complements to the core of Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena.
The Rays’ pitching staff is a never-ending parade of guys with A-plus stuff, headed by Shane McClanahan, a currently injured Jeffrey Springs, and a recovering Tyler Glasnow.
2) Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves spent the entire decade of the 1990s as a perennial National League contender, only winning the World Series once in 1995. Fast forward to now, and the Braves are in a similar position, only two years removed from winning the whole shebang in 2021.
The Braves have poached the tanking Oakland Athletics for two superstars in the past two seasons. Last year, it was all-star first baseman Matt Olson, while this year, it was all-star catcher Sean Murphy. The veteran backstopper had the reputation of being a defensive catcher who was average with the stick. However, Murphy is a new man donning Atlanta threads, with a slugging percentage over .600.
When you incorporate those two with Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley, it’s hard to imagine any pitching staff shutting down the Braves over a five or seven-game series—particularly when they have Spencer Strider, Max Fried, and Charlie Morton on the bump.
3) A New York State of Mind
While we believe the Rays and the Braves are the cream of the crop of their respective leagues, a pair of teams are lying in the weeds in the Big Apple. The New York Mets will be nipping at the Braves’ heels all year and have yet to play with all their new toys.
The reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander should fortify the Mets rotation, including Max Scherzer at the top. The two former Tigers are still as electric as they were in the Motor City a decade later.
On the other hand, the New York Yankees will be lurking to take first place from Tampa during the dog days of summer. The Yankees started cold last year before stacking wins together in the late summer months. With deep pockets and an impatient fan base to please, we know Brian Cashman isn’t afraid to make a big move.
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if one of the three favorites to win the 2023 World Series fell short, but the smart money is one of these three—err, four—teams to hoist the trophy. Another smart money move is to go with Pregame’s MLB expert picks against the spread. Our team is hard at work each day of the MLB season, allowing you to connect before you bet to pick winners!