World Series 2020 Odds, Predictions & Picks

• Baseball is coming back with a 60-game season starting on July 23, which will almost certainly have different results compared to 162 games

• This doesn’t mean that the best team won’t win the World Series, but it does mean this year as much as any, it’s really anybody’s guess who holds the Commissioner’s Trophy

• Here are some teams whose World Series odds have improved, or fallen with the new format and a few picks for who to take and who to stay away from

Batter Up

With 60 games in 66 days, throw out the old “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” adage. Now, it’s more like a 10k where one four-game losing streak or injury could spell disaster.

An argument could be made that a shorter season benefits a young, up-and-coming team. Baseball is a game where you need to get hot at the right time, but the grind of a long season can eliminate a lot of the feel-good stories, and instead serve as a sport where the cream consistently rises to the top. That changes drastically in a schedule that’s two months instead of six months.

How this Changes Things

The World Series Champion Washington Nationals opened up the season 19-31 in their first 50 games. That clearly would miss the postseason in 2020. Additionally, the Cardinals and Braves who both made the postseason in 2019, had a 50-game stretch of play where they went under .500, while the Rockies, Giants, and Rangers each finished below .500 last year, but all had a 50-game stretch where they won 30 or more games.

In the end, the better teams became evident over 162 games, but that likely won’t happen to the same extent this season. It’s about starting hot.

One could also believe a team with a veteran presence will benefit from this format. Those with more experience have gone through more trials and tribulations and could be better suited to handle whatever this unusual season will bring.

Not to mention, this newly revised schedule will inevitably help some teams in certain ways more than others, based on expected strength of opponent in their schedule.

Here are the current odds for every team to win the World Series, provided by DraftKings.

World Series Odds 2020

Have a look at the latest odds for the winner of the World Series 2020. All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.

Now let’s take a look at a few teams we think this new season benefits and a few teams this will make things more difficult for.

Biggest Beneficiaries

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox get to play the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals for 20 of their 60 games. That’s 33% of their season against two of the five bottom teams according to FanGraphs. Michael Kopech, one of the top young arms in baseball who was supposed to start the season in Triple-A will likely be a part of the Major League Roster after having three additional months to rehab. Alongside Lucas Giolito who came into his own in 2019 and the newly added Dallas Keuchel, the White Sox have the makings of a strong front of the rotation. Add that to a young core with chemistry and a deep lineup with power and the White Sox are the biggest benefactors in the league with this new format.

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics have made the postseason in five of 10 seasons dating back to 2010, but if you took the first 60 games of their schedule each year, they would’ve qualified for the playoffs just twice. Still, the A’s benefit because their rotation which doesn’t have many arms who’ve proven they can throw big innings (Mike Fiers who threw 184.2 innings last year was by far the most of anybody currently on the roster) now doesn’t have to. A slugger in Khris Davis or Matt Olson can always get hot, Matt Chapman is a legitimate MVP candidate and Marcus Semien is coming off of a career year. They have to play the Astros and Dodgers 14 times, but even go 6-8 in those contests and a 28-18 record against the lesser teams should get them in the postseason.

Biggest losers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers very well might be the best team in baseball. But that might not matter. With so little room for error, the teams who were supposed to run away with their divisions will now have a pressure they wouldn’t have otherwise had in any other season. Add to it their recent shortcomings in the postseason and inability to win the pressure game and it’s a legitimate question if this team can win it all. There is no weakness on this roster – a lineup with Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager at the top is stacked. Clayton Kershaw and David Price are two of the best lefty starters in the game. If this were a 162-game season, the Dodgers would be the best bet to win it all. But with so much in question, there’s no value in picking them.

Boston Red Sox

A shortened season is good for teams who don’t have as much depth in their starting rotation but have aces at the top. That’s not the Boston Red Sox, who lost Chris Sale to Tommy John surgery in March and David Price to a trade with the Dodgers in the offseason. The offense is still one of the top five in the American League, even without Mookie Betts, but with an expected rotation of Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Collin McHugh, Martin Perez, and Ryan Weber won’t cut it. Plus, playing more than half their games against the Yankees, Rays, Braves, Nationals, and Phillies, this feels like a team that isn’t making the postseason.