 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Related Links
Recent Articles
Best of Dan Ippolito
|
Gaming Guru
  Top 10 bets for the second half of the 2025 Major League Baseball season16 June 2025
With the trade deadline looming (31 July), expect general managers across the league to continue making strategic moves to bolster their rosters. With that in mind, today we break down 10 bets to consider as the season unfolds. (All odds provided by bet365 Sportsbook & Racebook) 10. AL No. 1 seed Currently, the best record in all of baseball belongs to the Detroit Tigers who sit at 46-27. The Tigers have a 2.5-game lead over the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League, after the Yankees got swept by the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. However, don’t be surprised if the Yankees turn to the trade market to bring in some more hitting to pair with the return of the power-hitting Giancarlo Stanton from injury. The pitching is strong for the Yankee staff but the offense has struggled as of late, but don’t expect the Bronx Bombers to be kept down for too long. Sitting at +100 to be the top seed in the AL, New York will have to make up some ground in the second half of the season, but they are more than capable, especially with the historic year Aaron Judge has been having at the plate.
9. NL Cy Young winner I usually try to avoid such heavy favorites, but there really isn’t an argument to bet against Paul Skenes (-340) to win the National League Cy Young award. The 23-year-old pitcher has a 1.78 ERA, good for second in the MLB, but despite his impressive ERA, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense has failed Skenes by not providing him any run support, leading to just a 4-6 record for the starter. Skenes is also top 10 in strikeouts with 97 on the season, and second in WHIP (walks and hits per inning). 8. San Diego to make playoffs The NL West is probably the strongest division in baseball with the LA Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. With the Dodgers having a small division lead, both the Giants and Padres are fighting for Wild Card positions and both currently hold a spot. The Padres’ offense is led by the three-headed monster of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Luis Arraez. A big offseason signing for San Diego was starting pitcher Nick Pivetta who has been nothing shy of a major addition to the starting rotation. At -140 to make the playoffs, San Diego could really be a dangerous Wild Card team to go up against come October.
7. AL West winner The Houston Astros are in a great position with a 4.5-game lead in the AL West division over the Seattle Mariners. The team is 8-2 over its last 10 games and the pitching has been the key factor this season. The Astros have given up 253 runs this season, good for second lowest in all of baseball, just behind the Mets by five runs. With no signs of the gap being closed in the AL West, if the Astros make any improvements before the trade deadline, it will that much more difficult for either the Mariners or the Texas Rangers to make a push to catch Houston for the division title. The Astros are -250 to hold the top spot in the AL West. 6. Arizona to miss playoffs As mentioned earlier, both the Padres and Giants hold two out of the three Wild Card spots in the NL currently. The other spot belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies with a strong record of 42-29 and the only reason they are in the Wild Card talks is because the New York Mets are one of the best teams in baseball and also play in the NL East with the Phillies. It is very likely that the Phillies and at least one of the Giants or Padres to claim two Wild Card spots when the season ends, leaving just one other up for grabs. The Arizona Diamondbacks are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot with three other teams ahead of them on the outside looking in. It is not going to be an easy task by any means for the D-Backs and it wouldn’t shock many if they became sellers at the deadline. The D-Backs are -270 to miss the playoffs. 5. NL East winner It is a two-horse race for the NL East between the New York Mets (45-27) and the Philadelphia Phillies (42-29). The Mets had an even bigger lead a week ago, but after dropping three straight, and the Phillies claiming four straight victories, the gap has dwindled to just 2.5 games. The Atlanta Braves sit in third in the division but they are 13 games back with a 31-39 record so everyone else is basically out of this hunt. The Mets have given up the fewest runs in all of baseball at 248 and have the third-best run differential (+80). Yes, they can score runs but having a league-leading 2.97 team ERA is the eye-opening stat that belongs to the Mets. While the Phillies have really narrowed the gap and are starting to catch the Mets, anticipate New York to get back on track and start to pull away again and claim the NL East title at -210 odds. 4. Boston to make playoffs Yesterday, the Boston Red Sox really shook up the baseball world by sending Devers to the Giants. There had been tension between Devers and the organization for months since he was moved to DH, but now he is out west and it is a big blow to the offense but Boston may have some other options. In the last two weeks, the team changed from being on its way out, to being tied for the last Wild Card spot after sweeping the Yankees over the weekend and winning its last few series. Boston brought up MLB’s top prospect Roman Anthony last week and he has struggled so far at the plate but the organization is confident he will adjust. The pitching has been a major positive sign of late, as their starters are finally tossing six-plus innings of quality pitches. In addition, Alex Bregman, who was arguably their best player before getting injured, is going to be coming back to the lineup at some point this season and it will bring back some power the lineup loses with Devers gone. At +190 to make the playoffs, the Sox have a chance to continue their recent success and push themselves in a better playoff spot.
3. San Francisco to make playoffs San Francisco added a massive lefty bat to its lineup with yesterday’s trade with Boston. Winners of seven of their last 10 games, the Giants sit in the second Wild Card spot currently and have already improved its roster. Despite only having a team batting average of .232, the Giants still manufacture runs and put themselves in position to win games. At -170 to make the playoffs, it is clear with yesterday’s trade that the Giants are all in to push this season. 2. Dodgers to reach NLCS With bringing back Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, it is not surprising that the Los Angeles Dodgers are leading the NL West and are one of the best teams in baseball again. The offense just simply can’t be held down as the Dodgers have scored a league-leading 399 runs. The team’s home record (25-12) is another reason why it may be difficult for a team to beat them four times in a series, especially if they get home field advantage. If the offense wasn’t enough, Shohei Ohtani is making his season pitching debut tonight against the Padres and if he can be any shade of his former pitching self, the league is in trouble. Los Angeles is -140 to reach the NLCS. 1. World Series Champion Continuing on with the impressiveness of the Dodgers, it is more than just Betts, Freeman, and Ohtani. The offense sees a lot of contribution from the likes of Will Smith, Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernandez. Going back to adding Ohtani to the roster, it is more important than just his skills. This season, the Dodgers have only two pitchers who have started at least 10 games this season. Having a more consistent rotation is something they have lacked and it can make a huge difference. As the favorite, the Dodgers are +225 to hoist the World Series trophy in October.
Top 10 bets for the second half of the 2025 Major League Baseball season
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
Related Links
Recent Articles
Best of Dan Ippolito
Dan Ippolito |
Dan Ippolito |