While it's an oversimplification to say odds and standings should correlate perfectly, we're late enough in the baseball season to where it's useful to compare the two in an effort to find wagering value.
For bettors looking to get their money's worth in the futures market, then, the Orioles jump off the page when stacking World Series and pennant odds next to current MLB standings.
Ahead of Tuesday's games, with less than 50 games to play in the season, Baltimore holds the second wild-card spot in the AL but is priced at 25-to-1 to win the World Series and 12-to-1 to claim the AL Pennant. The Orioles are a half-game ahead of the Angels, whose World Series and AL odds are 20-to-1 and 9-to-1 respectively.
Over in the NL, we find an opposite standings-to-odds anomaly, as the Nationals are 16-to-1 to win the World Series and 8-to-1 to win the pennant, despite being 9.5 games back of a wild-card spot. The Giants share the Nats' futures odds yet are much closer in the standings to the Cubs, holders of the second wild-card spot. The Diamondbacks are level with Washington in the standings but are 1000-to-1 to win the Fall Classic.
Here's a chart comparing the standings in both leagues to the futures odds posted at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook (WCGB* denotes games back in wild-card race).
| World Series odds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div Leaders | W | L | WCGB* | WS odds | Pennant odds |
| Yankees | 65 | 52 | - | 9/1 | 4/1 |
| Royals | 71 | 46 | - | 7/2 | 8/5 |
| Astros | 64 | 55 | - | 12/1 | 11/2 |
| Wild Card | W | L | WCGB* | WS odds | Pennant odds |
| Blue Jays | 65 | 54 | +3 | 6/1 | 3/1 |
| Orioles | 61 | 56 | - | 25/1 | 12/1 |
| Angels | 61 | 57 | 0.5 | 20/1 | 9/1 |
| Rangers | 60 | 57 | 1 | 30/1 | 15/1 |
| Rays | 59 | 59 | 2.5 | 50/1 | 25/1 |
| Twins | 59 | 59 | 2.5 | 80/1 | 40/1 |
| Tigers | 56 | 61 | 5 | 200/1 | 100/1 |
| White Sox | 55 | 61 | 5.5 | 200/1 | 100/1 |
| Indians | 55 | 62 | 6 | 100/1 | 50/1 |
| Mariners | 55 | 64 | 7 | 300/1 | 150/1 |
| Red Sox | 52 | 66 | 9.5 | 500/1 | 250/1 |
| Athletics | 51 | 69 | 11.5 | 1000/1 | 500/1 |
| Div Leaders | W | L | WCGB* | WS odds | Pennant odds |
| Cardinals | 76 | 42 | - | 5/1 | 2/1 |
| Dodgers | 67 | 51 | - | 6/1 | 5/2 |
| Mets | 63 | 55 | - | 8/1 | 7/2 |
| Wild Card | W | L | WCGB* | WS odds | Pennant odds |
| Pirates | 69 | 47 | +2 | 12/1 | 6/1 |
| Cubs | 67 | 49 | - | 14/1 | 7/1 |
| Giants | 64 | 54 | 4 | 16/1 | 8/1 |
| Diamondbacks | 58 | 59 | 9.5 | 1000/1 | 500/1 |
| Nationals | 58 | 59 | 9.5 | 16/1 | 8/1 |
| Padres | 57 | 62 | 11.5 | 300/1 | 150/1 |
| Braves | 53 | 65 | 15 | 1000/1 | 500/1 |
| Reds | 51 | 65 | 16 | 9999/1 | 5000/1 |
| Brewers | 51 | 69 | 18 | 9999/1 | 5000/1 |
| Rockies | 48 | 68 | 19 | 9999/1 | 5000/1 |
| Marlins | 48 | 70 | 20 | 9999/1 | 5000/1 |
| Phillies | 46 | 72 | 22 | 9999/1 | 5000/1 |
Register for The Linemakers on Sporting News' free newsletter.