If you watch Major League Baseball, you know that the “Boys of Summer” are playing to last until the fall. Whether it’s a team from the AL East duking it out to win the division or the Los Angeles Dodgers trying to show everyone why the NL West is the best division in baseball, the MLB Playoffs bring a ton of intrigue, especially for baseball bettors.
Let’s look at the current MLB Playoff odds and give y’all a quick little betting guide to get you amped up for the best time of the year!
Bet On MLB Playoff Odds
MLB Playoff Standings
As the baseball season progresses, you want to follow your favourite teams and potentially bet them to win the division, make the playoffs, etc. Sportsbooks usually have these lines out all year round, but they fluctuate a lot throughout the course of the season. A big part of that concerns the teams’ ever-changing playoff probabilities. Of course, keeping up with the swings requires more than looking at the standings. Don’t worry, here’s how to do it.
MLB Playoff Probability Tables
Search “MLB playoff probabilities” and you’ll find a website that updates those probabilities daily. FanGraphs seems to be the choice of the masses, but others fit the bill, like Baseball Reference. If you check these sites out regularly, you’ll see many probabilities change, and you might be able to spot a good MLB playoff bet.
Here are a few teams that have really picked up some steam. If you could spot them early, boy oh boy, you could’ve got some sweet, sweet value on each team’s individual playoff odds.
Most sportsbooks are favouring a win for the LA Dodgers or PHI Phillies , at +330 to win it outright compared to the next contender to take it at +600, the New York Yankees.
1. San Diego Padres: +58.3 (39.4% to 97.7%)
Going into the All-Star break, the Padres were a .500 team that played average at best. All of a sudden, the team has come out of nowhere to make itself a legit playoff contender. The Padres bullpen came alive, posting one of the best post-All-Star break ERAs. The offence started to click, and the starting pitching came alive. If the Padres get into the playoffs, look out.
Bet on the San Diego Padres!
2. Arizona Diamondbacks: +56.2 (39.4% to 95.6%)
The D-Backs’ season didn’t start the great. Injuries, average play, and bad luck hindered the team’s chances of doing anything special, but as the second half of the season progressed, so did the D-Backs’ role players. Arizona’s starting rotation would always be the team’s strength, but in the past, experts worried about the offensive side. Those experts might need to stop worrying as it seems things are rolling along well. Not to mention, the bullpen is starting to step up in critical situations.
Bet on the AZ Diamondbacks!
3. Houston Astros: +32 (56.9% to 88.9%)
Bro, at one point in the season, the ‘Stros trailed the Seattle Mariners by 10 games in the AL West. The tables have turned big time, with the Astros leading the division by 3.5 games as of this writing. All the big boys are starting to play up to par, and the ‘Stros bullpen 💩ing the bed. If the team’s play keeps up, Houston is deep enough to be scary in the playoffs, unlike Seattle, which only has a solid starting rotation.
Bet on the Houston Astros!
Ways to Bet on MLB Playoff Odds
There are a ton of ways to bet on the MLB Playoffs. Before the postseason starts, you can bet on whether a team will make the playoffs and which team will win their division. Once the postseason begins, your options are pretty vast. There are future bets. You can bet on the games themselves. You can bet on the series. For example, you can bet the New York Yankees to beat the Houston Astros in the ALCS once the matchup is set in stone.
Let’s dive deeper into your MLB Playoffs wagering options below:
MLB Playoffs Moneyline
You can bet on a team to win the game outright in the MLB Playoffs, just like in the regular season. In gambling circles, that means you’d be taking a team on the moneyline. More often than not, you’ll see very competitive odds on both teams, so no matter what side you play, you should get decent prices.
MLB Playoff Totals
Do you think a game will be a barnburner while all the analysts say will be a pitcher’s duel? You can fade the public by taking the Over on the total. The total reflects how many runs the books think both teams will combine to score in a game. If the total is 7.5 runs and both teams combine to score eight runs, your Over bet is a winner!
MLB Playoff Run Lines
When it comes to betting on baseball, the spread is called the “run line.” The standard run line is 1.5. If you choose the team favoured by -1.5 runs, that means the team needs to win the game by two or more runs. If the team only wins by one run or loses the game outright, your spread bet loses, and the +1.5 bet on the other team wins. Most bettors play the run line when the price on the moneyline is too short.
American and National League Pennant Winners
This is a very popular futures bet when it comes to MLB Playoff odds. You’re basically picking what team will represent the American League and National League in the World Series. Another way to look at it is you’re picking who you think will win the NLCS and ALCS before or after the actual matchups are set. For example, you could take the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the National League Pennant while being down 2-0 in the NLCS.
MLB Division Winners
With this bet, you’ll pick who you think will win the AL East, AL Central, Al West, NL East, NL Central and NL West at the end of the regular season. The market for this bet opens reasonably early in the offseason and can be available to wager on until the last week of the MLB regular season in September.
MLB Playoffs Basics
Okay, we’ve discussed everything except when the MLB Playoffs start and how they operate. First and foremost, the playoffs—the key phase—will most likely begin at the start of October. The Wild Card Series will kick things off and give punters some bets to sweat. If the playoffs drag on, they could potentially run until early November.
The MLB playoff format for 2024 will follow the expanded 12-team structure introduced in 2022. Here’s a breakdown of the format:
MLB Playoff Teams
12 teams total will make the playoffs (6 from each league – American League and National League)
In each league there will be:
- 3 division winners
- 3 wild card teams (best records among non-division winners)
MLB Playoff Seeding
The teams in each league will be seeded as follows:
- Best overall record (division winner)
- Second-best division winner
- Third-best division winner
- Best wild card team
- Second-best wild card team
- Third-best wild card team
MLB Playoff Rounds
Wild Card Series
- Best-of-3 series
- No. 3 seed hosts No. 6 seed
- No. 4 seed hosts No. 5 seed
- All games are played at the higher seed’s home park
- Winners advance to the Division Series
Division Series
- Best-of-5 series
- No. 1 seed faces the winner of the 4/5 Wild Card Series
- No. 2 seed faces the winner of the 3/6 Wild Card Series
- 2-2-1 format with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, and 5
League Championship Series
- Best-of-7 series
- 2-3-2 format with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7
World Series
- Best-of-7 series
- 2-3-2 format
- Home-field advantage goes to the team with the better regular season record
Key Takeaways: MLB Playoff Betting
The Major League Playoffs are insanely fun to watch. As a bettor, there’s no bigger sweat than having a one-run lead at the bottom of the ninth and hoping Kenley F%$#@*& Jensen don’t blow it. Hopefully, this page helped you learned about all the fun, exciting, and sometimes stressful MLB playoff odds info and postseason bets you can make.
As always, we encourage y’all to bet responsibly and enjoy the ride.
MLB Playoff Odds FAQ
Twelve teams total will make the playoffs (six from each league – the American League and National League)
FanGraphs says the Toronto Blue Jays have a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs.
According to Baseball Reference, the Mariners have a 6.3% chance of making the playoffs.
According to FanGraphs, the St. Louis Cardinals have a 1.8% chance of making the playoffs.
According to FanGraphs, the Detroit Tigers have a 3.1% chance of making the playoffs.
Most likely. According to FanGraphs, the Houston Astros have an 83.5% chance of making the playoffs.
