The traditional opening day celebration for 2024 Major League Baseball is March 28, when all 30 teams are in action.
Hopes are limitless for 30 teams, all with aspirations for the playoffs. But only 12 teams can advance.
Sports betting apps have their odds for MLB Playoffs on the board now. For fans of the National Pastime, we’ve identified opportunities for your wagers to work for you over the next six-plus months during the long MLB season.
Here are our 2024 MLB odds to make the playoffs.
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Shortest Odds to Make MLB Playoffs
Odds listed are from BetMGM. Odds are subject to change.
Los Angeles Dodgers, -10000
With a lineup filled with guys headed to Cooperstown, the Dodgers are favorites to win the NL West, the pennant, and the World Series. The games have to be played, and many things can happen, but LA seems loaded to make another run into October.
Atlanta Braves, -3000
Unlike the Dodgers, the Braves have recently won a World Series in a full season: taking the crown in 2021. Atlanta has a deep lineup led by reigning NL Most Valuable Player Ronald Acuna Jr., but there’s much to like about this roster, including a top-shelf pitching rotation. The Braves have little competition for the AL East.
Houston Astros, -500
The ‘Stros have won the last six division titles, excluding the COVID-shortened season. Last season. they were arguably the second-best team in baseball but succumbed to the Rangers in the seventh game of the AL Championship Series. Long in the tooth in the Lone Star State? Not so: the Astros still have the effective veteran triumvirate of José Altuve, José Abreu, and Alex Bregman, as well as MVP candidates Yordan Álvarez, Kyle Tucker, and Jeremy Peña. An eighth straight appearance in MLB’s “Final Four” is possible.
New York Yankees, -250
We’d be wary of the Yanks: pitcher Gerrit Cole begins the season on the Injured List, Aaron Judge is hampered by a nagging injury that could (once again) limit his playing time, and New York’s bullpen has more holes than a criminal’s car in Grand Theft Auto.
Baltimore Orioles, -225
The O’s start the season as the presumptive favorite to win the AL East again. But, there are questions about whether Baltimore can continue to draw the cards they need from their farm system. MLB’s No. 1 ranked prospect, Jackson Holliday, starts the season in the minor leagues, for some reason.
Best Longshot Odds to Miss/Make MLB Playoffs
Odds listed are from BetMGM, unless otherwise noted. Once again, odds are subject to change.
Dodgers MISS Playoffs, +2500
Call us crazy, but there is a sliver of a scenario where this could happen. Already, one week after the Dodgers played two games in South Korea to open the season, the team is clouded by a scandal involving Shohei Ohtani. That’s all they needed, when odds have them as overwhelming favorites to win their division and make the playoffs for a 12th consecutive season. LA could also find problems with their rotation if rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggles to adjust to a new league, if Clayton Kershaw fails to rebound from surgery, and if Walker Buehler cannot reclaim the form he showed before he was shelved for 21 months after Tommy John Surgery. Repaired pitchers have a way of being inconsistent, and if Ohtani’s issues envelop the team and cause the Japanese star to slump, the Dodgers are vulnerable. We expect it to take 92-95 wins to grab a wild card.
Los Angeles Angels MAKE Playoffs, +1100
Yes, Shohei is across town with the Dodgers. Yes, the Angels have questions about starters Tyler Anderson and youngster Chase Silseth, but there’s plenty to be optimistic about. Mike Trout is still in the middle of the lineup, and he has others around him who can do damage. Fangraphs projects the Halos’ starting lineup for 193 HR; that’s even with only 16 HR assigned to maligned “I don’t care that much about baseball” Nolan Arenado. Keep an eye on SP Reid Detmers, who may break out as the best lefty in the AL. We don’t think it’s impossible that the Angels could improve by the 10 or so games that would put them in a wild card chase.
Astros MISS Playoffs, +360 (Caesars)
We expect Houston to have enough pitching to get into the postseason dance, but if their staff suffers too long from the absence of Justin Verlander (starts the season on IL), there is a way the ‘Stros miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Red Sox MAKE Playoffs, +260
As the Yankees go up, the Red Sox rise. Or so that’s what we see. Boston’s front office and manager are arguably the best in the AL and won’t be held out of the playoffs long. The Red Sox’s rotation has some intriguing young arms in Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello (decent longshot Cy Young Award candidate), and flamethrower Wikelman Gonzalez, who starts the season at Triple-A Worchester. We think 83-88 wins would grab a wild card, and Boston is good enough to win at least that many.
2024 MLB Playoff Picks
Don’t take these predictions with a grain of salt. Take them with a block of salt. Predicting a baseball season is difficult, but here are my selections for the three division winners and three wild card teams in each league.
American League
Division Winners: Rays, Twins, Astros
Wild Cards: Orioles, Red Sox, Angels
Bruce Bochy will see his Rangers follow the same pattern as his Giants, who failed to make the playoffs thrice after winning the World Series.
National League
Division Winners: Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers
Wild Cards: Padres, Diamondbacks, Giants
Three wild cards from one division: that’s never happened. But, we expect the Giants to be greatly improved, and the DBacks to be unrelentless in pursuit of a second straight pennant.
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