As the final Sunday of the 2022 Major League Baseball season comes to a close, the playoff landscape is almost entirely in place.
The Los Angeles Dodgers remain runaway favorites to win the 2022 Fall Classic and became the first team to officially clinch a postseason berth, marking 10 consecutive trips to October for the club. Only the Atlanta Braves (1991-2005) and New York Yankees (1995-2007) have longer playoff streaks in MLB history.
MLB futures understandably have the Dodgers pegged to win it all, but the Houston Astros aren't all that far behind at a number of books.
Here are the current betting odds to win the 2022 World Series:
Odds to win the 2022 World Series
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
World Series odds over time
Favorites to win the World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers (+248 to +300)
The Dodgers are consistently incredible. This will mark the ninth time in 10 seasons that they will win the NL West and they only narrowly finished second to the Giants in 2021 thanks to a remarkable run by San Francisco.
Teams to win 106+ games in 3 straight full seasons:
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 25, 2022
2019-22 Dodgers
That's it, that's the list.
And this would likely be four in a row if the 60-game season in 2020 were extrapolated into a full campaign. The Dodgers went 43-17 that season for a .716 winning percentage, which is better than any they've ever produced over a full year.
First-year Dodger Freddie Freeman looks poised to win the batting title with a .329 average with only a few days left on the schedule. This could also bring him his second NL MVP award thanks to Paul Goldschmidt's September collapse.
Los Angeles has a +336 run differential, which is the best any team has produced since 1939 when the Yankees were +411. Those Yankees went on to sweep the Reds in the World Series.
Houston Astros (+299 to +350)
The Houston Astros are crushing their competition. They have clinched the AL West thanks to their fourth 100-win season in six years. Like the Dodgers, the Astros are an incredibly deep and consistent team on both sides of the ball. They're the only other team with a collective ERA below 3.00 (2.93).
Justin Verlander isn't showing his age as he appears poised to win his third career AL Cy Young, but the rest of the rotation ain't half bad, either. Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr., and Luis Garcia help form perhaps the deepest pitching staff in MLB. Not only that but they got a pair of electric starts from rookie Hunter Brown while Verlander nursed a calf injury on the IL. Now, Brown is pitching in relief and providing the best bullpen in the AL with yet another quality arm.
And that doesn't even take the offense into account. Even after losing a couple of big bats in subsequent offseasons, Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez have more than made up for it alongside offensive stalwarts Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.
Bookmakers seem to agree that the Astros are the biggest threat to L.A.'s chances at a title.
New York Yankees (+413 to +450)
The Yankees are getting hot at the right time after a tumultuous downturn for much of the second half. New York held a 15-game lead in the AL East that it nearly coughed up before winning seven straight and putting it out of reach for the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, both of whom had to settle for wild-card berths.
Aaron Judge has 61 home runs, tying Roger Maris' AL mark for a single season, and he is second in the AL batting title race with a .313 average as he pursues the league's first Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera a decade ago.
The pitching staff is still a concern, especially as star deadline acquisition Frankie Montas may slide into an opener or reliever role upon his return from the IL. Nevertheless, this Yankees squad will be dangerous if it's truly past its extended struggles.
New York Mets (+424 to +600)
The Mets and Braves continue their divisional game of tennis with Atlanta now holding onto a 1-game lead over New York heading into their Sunday Night clash. Both teams have clinched playoff spots, so now it's all about jockeying for position.
Jacob deGrom has been fairly sharp since returning from the IL, though not quite his accustomed level. He's allowed three or more runs in four consecutive starts after doing so only once in his first seven outings of 2022.
Atlanta Braves (+575 to +600)
The season started slowly for the defending champs, but they've had a solid season overall up to this point, sitting at 99-59. With the Mets slumping ever so slightly, the Braves have capitalized to take over the race in the East.
The rotation is a concern for opponents. Even though Ian Anderson has seemingly taken a step back en route to a minor-league demotion, Spencer Strider is one of teammate Michael Harris' chief rivals for the league's top rookie honors, and Kyle Wright is finally living up to his potential, becoming the league's first 20-game winner on the season. Max Fried will get down-ballot Cy Young votes and veteran Charlie Morton is holding his own.
With so few holes, and the acquisitions of Raisel Iglesias, Robbie Grossman, and Jake Odorizzi at the trade deadline, Atlanta is in a solid position to weather the storm in the postseason.
Understanding World Series futures odds
Sportsbooks will post odds for the World Series as early as the day after the end of the previous MLB postseason. These odds are constantly adjusted throughout the offseason as players get hurt or are suspended or traded. Once the season begins, title odds will change as often as daily as teams win and lose games and as players get hurt or suspended. Sportsbooks will also adjust MLB futures odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.
World Series futures odds will usually look like this:
- Houston Astros +210
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $210 if the Astros win the World Series. If it's close to the end of the regular season or during the playoffs and if there is a very dominant team, you might see that a team is has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds.
- Los Angeles Dodgers -120
This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on a Dodgers championship.
Above we have posted the American odds for MLB futures. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool.
How to bet on MLB futures odds
There are a few different ways to bet on professional baseball futures odds. One way is by selecting the winner of the World Series. You're able to do this from basically after the final out of the previous year's World Series all the way through to next year's playoffs.
There are many other baseball futures markets to dive into as well, such as odds to win the National League and American League pennants, odds to win each division within both the NL and AL, and by taking the Over or Under on a team's total wins for the season. Some sportsbooks will also offer markets on player awards such as the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year.
Get more baseball betting strategies in our How to Bet section and join the conversation with thousands of serious baseball bettors in our MLB Betting Forum.
Where to bet on the World Series
If you're in a state that allows mobile, online betting, make sure you know which sites are the best baseball betting sites. The best betting sites offer sharp odds, quick payouts and are safe and secure when it comes to depositing and withdrawing your money.
World Series Odds FAQs
As of October 2, 2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers (+248 to +300) are the betting favorites to win the 2022 World Series with the Houston Astros (+299 to +350) next in line.
The Atlanta Braves (+1,000) beat the Houston Astros in six games to win the 2021 World Series.
The World Series will begin Sunday, October 30, 2022.
