AL Central Future Bets for 2025
A Blog by Greg
Alright y'all, welcome back to another installment of the season-long bets article series. As the title suggests, this one will cover bets within the AL Central division. I don’t want to waste any time here; let’s get right into why you clicked on the article.
Detroit Tigers to win AL Central (+300)
The AL Central might be the most wide-open division in all of baseball. With the exception of the White Sox, every team in the division has a legitimate chance at taking home the AL Central regular season crown. The betting odds on the division title perfectly display the level of parity, as the favorite, the Twins, are listed at +220, and the 4th favorite, the Tigers/Royals, are listed at +300. The Tigers sort of overachieved last season, winning 86 games and taking the Guardians to 5 games in the ALDS. Detroit has a solid young core, one of the best pitchers in the MLB (2024 AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal), and acquired a pair of former Yankees in Gleyber Torres and Tommy Kahnle to add some veteran depth to an already good team. Most importantly, Jack Flaherty has returned to Detroit on a two year deal, further strengthening their starting rotation. I truly think the Guardians, Royals, and Tigers all have a legitimate chance to win the division, but the reason I am backing the Tigers in particular is the price. Bet Detroit and watch Skubal absolutely shove every five games.
Twins not to make the playoffs (-125)
The Twins barely finished over .500, winning 82 games, and have not made any significant acquisitions in the offseason. Personally, I think Minnesota sucks. They are a bad team; they are not fun, and winning a mere 82 games in 2024 should be considered an overachieving season. There core players are beginning to age and, with the exception of SS Royce Lewis, no member of the Twins “young core” excites me. The Twins were competitive in the division the last 2 seasons, but the difference between the top 3 and the Twins and White Sox will be stark this year. Fade the Twins any way you can.
Bobby Witt Jr. o29.5 SB (-110)
I do not totally understand this line. I know he only stole 31 bases last season in an incredible season where he hit 32 HRs and slashed .332/.389/.588 en route to finishing 2nd in the AL MVP voting, but nothing has indicated that he will stop stealing bases in 2025. I expected this line to be closer to 40 than 30, considering he is only a season removed from stealing 49 bases and he has never stolen under 30 bases in any of his three seasons in the MLB. Witt’s offense has improved tremendously since he joined the Royals in 2022, and if he can get on base the same way he did last season, there is no reason he won’t surpass the 30-steal mark. Additionally, if he is close to having a 30/30 season like he did last year, he will certainly force a few more steals in order to achieve the impressive feat again. Bobby Witt Jr. over 29.5 SB, bet it!
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for the next blog covering the AL West! You can also follow me on X GRMBets and the rest of the TheSkippersView team.