AL Central Winner Odds: The Division as a Whole Is Not Very Good, but Someone Has to Win It

Not much has changed in this brutal month of May for the AL Central Division. The Minnesota Twins hope to get that bad record in May out of the window for the start of Summer. The Cleveland Guardians continue to fall while the Detroit Tigers continue to rise. Rounding out the bottom of the division are the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals, who also finish their brutal month of May. The division as a whole is not very good, but someone has to win it.

AL Central Winner Odds

Several MLB sportsbooks will be up to date with the current odds for AL Central. One of them is DraftKings, which has the updated odds of the division after the Opening Day of the 2023 MLB Season. Here are the lines of the projections of the AL Central, courtesy of DraftKings.

AL Central Winner Pick

The Minnesota Twins, despite the dreaded month of May, are still the team to beat. They are the team in the division that can still find ways to win any series versus any other opponent in the league. The biggest indicator of the Twins’ projection towards the AL Central Divisional is the lack of productivity from the other four teams.

Minnesota Twins (-235 DraftKings Sportsbook)

In a division that is among the weakest in the MLB, the Minnesota Twins (29-27) are not doing themselves a favor in the month of May. After starting March and April with an overall record of 17-12, the Twins experienced a tough outing in May as they went 11-14 with two games left in the month.

This past week is just an example of how the Twins have been struggling in May. Just this month, the Twins have only won two of the eight series played. Minnesota was 2-4 this past week as they won only one game in the home series against the San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Minnesota’s batting, which has been a solid strength at the beginning of the season, has been less reliable as of late. In the six games last week, the Twins have averaged 3.5 runs, 6.8 hits, 1.5 home runs, 3.0 RBIs, 4.2 walks, encountered 12.5 average strikeouts, a batting average of .212 and an on-base percentage of .317. The Twins have been reaching for big hits and have put themselves in tough strikeout situations as a result.

The Twins have seen great performances from leftfielder Willi Castro and second baseman Edouard Julien, who have both accounted for two home runs in the six games week.

Minnesota got off to a good start to the new week with a 7-5 win in the fifth inning over the Houston Astros on Monday, May 29th. As of Tuesday morning, the Twins are two games above the Detroit Tigers, which shows the Twins are vulnerable.

Detroit Tigers (+1200 DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Detroit Tigers (25-27) continue to be the surprise team of the AL Central through the month of May. The Tigers have accounted for a 15-9 record in the month of May to put them in serious contention for the AL Central Divisional title.

This week was another solid week of production on the field as the Tigers won five of their seven games played. The best thing about the solid week is that the Tigers accomplished against two teams from the AL Central. Detroit defeated the Kansas City Royals in two of the three games on the road. Then, the Tigers were able to defeat the Chicago White Sox in three of the four games to end a successful week.

Detroit had a solid week at the batting plate by averaging 5.4 runs, 8.4 hits, 1.0 home runs, 5.3 RBI, 6.9 walks, encountered 9.1 strikeouts, a batting average of .246 and an on-base percentage of .373. In the last six days, which includes Monday’s 5-0 loss to the Texas Rangers, three players for the Tigers were about to account for five or more runs. Centerfielder Riley Greene accounted for six runs, 10 hits, three double-base hits, one home run, two RBI, 18 total bases, six walks, nine strikeouts, one stolen, a batting average of .370 and an on-base percentage of .485.

The Tigers’ pitching, which has been a struggle since the start of the season, allowed an average of 8.3 hits, 5.0 runs, 2.6 walks, delivered 9.3 strikeouts and accounted for an ERA of 4.08. If the Tigers are able to somewhat keep this pace from May through June, the summer and going into the Fall, the Tigers are going to shock fans in the league.

Cleveland Guardians (+340 DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Cleveland Guardians (25-29) have not played like the reigning AL Central Division they are in the months of April and May. This past week has been an indication of the problems that the Guardians have encountered at this point through the season.

Last week, the Guardians went 3-3 with a series win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Guardians started the week by losing two of the three games at home versus their AL Central Divisional rival in the Chicago White Sox as they only averaged 1.7 runs in those three games. They were able to defeat the Cardinals in a three-game home series thanks to the stellar play of their pitching and fielding.

Cleveland averaged 2.3 runs, 6.8 hits, 1.8 double-base hits, 2.2 RBI, 2.7 walks, encountered 6.0 strikeouts, a batting average of .217 and an on-base percentage of .282. Most of the positive batting performances were in the series against the Cardinals. They only accounted for two home runs in those six games last week.

The pitching for the Guardians was highly efficient in those six games last week. They allowed an average of 5.5 hits, 3.0 runs, 3.3 walks, 0.8 home runs, delivered 7.7 strikeouts and accounted for an ERA of 2.62. The pitching for the Guardians has been the saving grace for the team through this stressful first two months of the season.

The positive side is they have started slow to start the season before making a serious run towards the divisional title. This year is not like last year, they need to gain some rhythm at the plate.

Chicago White Sox (+1100 DraftKings Sportsbook)

While Minnesota, Detroit and Cleveland are facing off at the top of the AL Central Division, the Chicago White Sox (22-34) lead off the bottom of the barrel in the division. There was some progress the week before by winning their two series, both at home.

This past week, the White Sox had an up-and-down setting of momentum. They were able to win their third consecutive series by defeating the Cleveland Guardians in two of the three games on the road. They felt they could use that newfound momentum going into a pivotal four-game road series versus the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers, however, showed they are a divisional title contender by winning three of the four games versus the White Sox.

Chicago was able to show its grit in the batting game against the solid defense of the Guardians. In the three games against Cleveland, Chicago was able to get just enough momentum at the plate. It was their pitching that came through in the series by allowing an ERA of 1.73 in those three games.

Against the Tigers was another outcome as the White Sox allowed an average of 7.5 hits, 5.8 runs, 7.5 walks, 1.0 home runs, delivered an average of 7.8 strikeouts, and allowed an ERA of 5.19 in those four games.

Any momentum that was gained in the three consecutive series wins had been snuffed out in the series against Detroit. The White Sox have shown they can take control of their season and get back in the race for the AL Central Division, but they are going to need more performances like they did in the past two weeks.

Kansas City Royals (+25000 DraftKings Sportsbook)

If it wasn’t for the embarrassing Oakland Athletics (11-45), the Kansas City Royals (17-38) would officially be the worst team in the MLB. There was actually some progress for the Royals in May as they are 10-16 through the month. They originally started the month of March and April with an overall record of 7-22.

The Royals were only able to win two of the six games played last week with one win each in the series versus the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Nationals. Half of the games last week showed poor pitching and fielding while the other half of the game featured poor batting.

In the six games last week, the Royals averaged 4.7 runs, 8.5 hits, 1.5 double-base hits, 1.3 home runs, 4.3 RBIs, 3.5 walks, encountered 10.3 strikeouts, a batting average of .244 and an on-base percentage of .316. That includes the 10-6 win over the Nationals where the Royals accounted for 10 runs, 13 hits, nine RBI, five walks and nine strikeouts. In the game, shortstop Bobby Witt accounted for four RBIs and three runs including a two-run home run.

In terms of pitching as a whole, the Royals allowed an average of 10 hits, 5.5 runs, 6.2 walks, delivered 9.7 strikeouts and accounted for an ERA of 5.24.

The Royals are nowhere near ready to be able to contend for the AL Central Divisional title. There is no consistency in the batting or pitching game. Unless there is a reawakening in the careers of these aged veterans, don’t expect the Royals to put up a fight through the rest of the season.

How to Place a Futures Bet on the AL Central Division

Users can place bets on DraftKings by clicking on the link here. WSN has an instruction guide on how to make proper. Profits and credits are rewarded by how successful a user makes on a team’s future and how likely they are to win the AL Central. If a user places a bet on the lower odds like the Guardians, Twins or the White Sox, the more likely they are to be successful. If a user places the future divisional odds on the Royals or the Tigers, the less likely they are going to win, but the more winnings a user will get if the pick is correct at the end of the season.