AL West Winner Odds: Its Time to Believe in Texas

After winning the 2022 World Series, the Houston Astros will look to defend their AL West division title against a field of teams that significantly improved in the offseason. With Seattle, Texas, and Los Angeles boosting their lineups, we expect a fun race in 2023.

We have deep-dived into the division to determine who will be crowned champion this season. We are looking at the current sportsbook odds, offseason roster moves, projected stats, and more to give you the inside track on how to bet on the AL West. We will continue to update this weekly so you know you always have the most up-to-date odds and information.

Let’s start by looking at the odds for each team from some of the best MLB betting sites.

AL West Winner Odds

AL West Winner Our Pick

While the Astros have been hot, we are going with the Rangers to win the division. The deciding factor for us is the schedule these teams have played. 

The Rangers have impressive series wins against great teams, including against the Orioles over the weekend. 

Despite their recent play, the Astros don’t have many of those wins on their resume. It’s early, but Texas has been more impressive across the board, and that will lead them to a 2023 AL West division title.

Houston Astros (-135 at PointsBet Sportsbook)

Houston (31-22) has been on fire over the last few weeks, winning 11 of their previous 14 games. They still trail the Rangers by 2.5 games, but it’s a big turnaround from their 17-18 record on May 8. While the run is impressive, most of it came against the A’s, Cubs, and White Sox. They dropped two of the three games when they faced the Brewers last week, which has us concerned about how real this hot streak is. That is a trend we’ll be watching closely as they have the Twins, Angels, and Blue Jays coming up on the schedule. 

Jose Altuve's return (.355 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI) was a big reason for their recent success. The former MVP has only played in seven games in 2023, but he certainly looks like the Altuve of old. In addition to his return, Alex Bregman (.235 BA, 6 HR, 27 RBI) appears to be finally getting going. The third baseman posted a .346 batting average with five RBIs last week, but that's a limited sample size. We’ll be watching this week to see if this hot streak is a sign of things to come or just a flash in the pan.

The Astros got some bad news on the mound, as it was announced that Lance McCullers Jr suffered a setback in his return to the rotation. The Astros have already lost two starting pitchers this season and are desperate for McCullers to return. We aren’t sure how much of a setback this will be, but they will need him in the rotation to catch the Rangers in the AL West.

Los Angeles Angels (+1100 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

Coming into the weekend, we believed the Angels (28-26) were finally ready to make a run. That hope ended with a resounding thud over the weekend as they were swept at home by the Marlins. This has been the story of the Angels over the last few years, as they have been unable to be anything more than average. It’s been bad, but they’ll have a chance to turn things around with Houston, Seattle, and Texas series coming over the next few weeks. Wins against them could turn the Angels’ season around and put them back into play for the AL West title.

The Angels' offense had a tough week thanks to a min-slump from Shohei Ohtani (.269 BA, 12 HR, 33 RBI), who went 3-23 last week. The good news is that 25-year-old Mickey Moniak (.333 BA, 4 HR, 7 RBI) is having a breakout season. He was added to the lineup earlier this month and has been excellent as their new leadoff man. If he can continue this level of play when Anthony Rendon returns, this team could finally take off.

The Angels' rotation isn’t what they hoped it would be, but they’ve been better lately. Fans were relieved to see Ohtani (5-1, 2.91 ER) return to form late in May. He had a brutal start to the month, thanks to issues with his control. He has been walking batters and struggling to keep the ball in the park, but his last two starts have been far better. Ohtani is scheduled to start during their crucial series against Houston, so we’ll see if he can keep his hot streak going.

Oakland A’s (+100000 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

We know nobody will be betting on Oakland to win the AL West, so we’ll keep this brief. As of the time of this writing, the A’s (10-45) have lost 11 straight games. They are on track to lose 100 games in record time, and there is no reason to believe that will change anytime soon as their rotation is a mess, and the offense isn’t any better. 

Esteury Ruiz (.268 BA, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 27 SB) is really the only player worth watching on this Oakland team. The speedster’s breakout season looks like the real deal, as he leads the league in stolen bases. The key has been his ability to boost his average and get on base more, and his steal totals are off the charts as a result. The outfielder is just 24 years old, which could make him a popular trade target this summer. If Oakland does move Ruiz, they could be looking at a 120+ loss season.

Seattle Mariners (+1000 at Caesars Sportsbook)

The Mariners (28-25) had a big week, as they won six of their seven games. The hot streak came at a great time, as the Mariner's record had dipped below .500 earlier this month. They are now back up to third in the AL West, six games behind the division-leading Astros. However, four of those wins came against the A’s, and two were against the Pirates. We’ll see if their turnaround is for real this week, as Seattle will face two great teams, the Yankees and the Rangers.

Last week's winning was great, but the thing that really made Mariners fans excited was the play of Julio Rodriguez (.242 BA, 9 HR, 28 RBI). The center fielder was dreadful until this week, with his batting average dropping to .204. His average went up almost 40 points last week as he had 14 hits over their seven games. Rodriguez added two home runs and a steal, two categories he has struggled mightily with in 2023. If J-Rod’s season-long slump is really over, it could drastically change the AL West race.

The Mariners didn’t need pitching help, but they got it from rookie Bryce Miller (3-1, 1.15 ERA). He has looked like a veteran on the mound and is 5/5 in quality starts in 2023. Those are impressive numbers, meaning the Mariners now have four starters with an ERA of 3.60 or below. If the Seattle offense can get going, this staff could make them a serious contender for the AL West and the World Series.

Texas Rangers (+240 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

The Rangers (34-19) have looked like the best team in the AL West all season, and that didn’t change last week. They picked up an impressive series win against the Orioles, as they continue to succeed against the league’s top teams. While the Astros came charging this week, the Rangers still look like the class of the division. Considering that they have done most of this without Jacob deGrom, we firmly believe the Rangers will win the AL West title this fall.

Corey Seager (.333 BA, 5 HR, 23 RBI) has not missed a beat since returning from injury on May 17. He has had three home runs and 15 RBI since then, further boosting this impressive offense. On top of the return of Seager is the fact that rookie Josh Jung (.283 BA, 11 HR, 35 RBI) seems to be the real deal. That makes this lineup one of the most dangerous in the league, and it is why they’ll win the AL West this season.

If you don’t know who Mike Maddux is, you might wonder how this Texas rotation has been so good. The pitching coach has a knack for success with pitchers other teams have given up on. It has worked; their rotation is 14-2 this month with a 2.83 ERA despite not having deGrom. Maddux has also helped Nathan Eovaldi (7-2, 2.42 ERA) put up career-high numbers in his fourteenth season in the big leagues. He has taken over as their ace and has gone 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA in May. That’s even more impressive when you see that all four of his starts this month have gone at least seven innings. Even if deGrom isn’t able to stay healthy, this Texas rotation could be good enough to get them to the World Series.

How to Place a Futures Bet on the AL West Division

Future bets can be a fun alternative to single-game bets. They involve betting on the final outcome of the MLB season. You can bet on division winners, league winners, World Series Champs, stat leaders, and award winners. The earlier you place a bet, the better the odds.

The process is relatively straightforward if you want to place a future bet. Simply visit your favorite online sportsbook and follow these steps:

1. Select the MLB tab
2. Once on the MLB odds page, search for a section labeled “futures”
3. Choose which category you’d like to bet
4. Select the team or player you want and submit your bet ticket

Once that is done, you are all set. If your bet wins, your winnings will be automatically added to your account.