Who do bettors like ahead of MLB season?
The 2021 MLB season is a day away, and some teams have drawn particular interest from bettors in the final weeks before Opening Day. The same goes for the awards markets, where two favorites dominate one field while long shots are the flavor in another.
We talked to Jay Rood, Bet.Works' chief risk officer and theScore Bet's head trader, to see how sharps and public bettors are betting the upcoming season.
Mets' time is now
The Mets haven't won the World Series since 1986 or made the playoffs since 2016, but bettors are expecting both droughts to end this year.
New York is by far the biggest liability at theScore Bet, Rood said, after opening as a 35-1 dark horse to win it all. That number is down to 10-1 as of Wednesday, while the Mets' NL pennant odds have been cut from 15-1 to 5-1 - by far the biggest jump by any team.
The Dodgers are also a bettors' favorite despite the +350 price tag, while wagers have nudged the White Sox from 12-1 to 9-1 as of Wednesday despite losing star Eloy Jimenez for most of the season.
Bieber, Cole most popular Cy Young bets
The last two AL Cy Young Award winners have drawn most of the activity to win it again this year. But a few long shots in the NL have drawn bettors' attention.
As expected, co-favorites Shane Bieber and Gerrit Cole are the biggest liabilities in the AL market, with both priced at 3-1. Chris Sale (+3000) and Dylan Bundy (+5000) have seen some activity, too, but nothing like the two top names.
"(Bieber and Cole) are drawing basically all of it," Rood said. "It's a two-horse race."
That isn't the case in the NL. Yes, favorite Jacob deGrom (+400) is still the most common bet, but Blake Snell (+1300), Brandon Woodruff (+2200), and Clayton Kershaw (+2200) are among bettors' targets, too. So is long shot Noah Syndergaard (+5000), who is expected to return at some point during the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Mike Moustakas, HR king?
The home run market at theScore Bet lists a host of sluggers - some stars, some not. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the early wagering is the action on Reds infielder Mike Moustakas.
The 32-year-old is the biggest liability thus far, which has as much to do with his 150-1 price as his 51 home runs over the last three seasons, including eight in 44 games a year ago. He's followed by Corey Seager (+6500) and Teoscar Hernandez (+4500) as the most wagered players in the market.
Keep an eye on Nelson Cruz, who has drawn some activity at 100-1. The ageless wonder hit 16 homers a year ago, just short of the league lead, and has belted at least 37 home runs in each of the prior six seasons.
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.