MLB Best Bets 2024: World Series, Player Awards, Win Totals Bets

We searched through the top MLB odds to find our best bets for the 2024 season, with a focus on our favorite World Series, player award, stat leader, and win total bets!

MLB spring training games are in full swing, and some of the sport's biggest stars are already putting on a show for the fans.

With baseball finally here, we can look ahead to the beginning of the regular season, which will mark the first day our futures bets are live.

There are so many MLB futures markets to attack, though perhaps none are more popular than a simple World Series bet. As expected, the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers - led by free-agent addition Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman - are the favorites by our World Series odds.

There are also various player awards markets to target, with Spencer Strider and Gerrit Cole serving as the favorites by our MLB Cy Young odds, and first overall pick Jackson Holliday and massive free-agent acquisition Yoshinobu Yamamoto providing plenty of excitement in our MLB Rookie of the Year odds.

The options are seemingly endless, and that's why we've done a deeper dive into the available markets to find our favorite bets with spring training in full swing.

Here's our look at our best MLB bets for the 2024 regular season, with odds from the best MLB betting sites.  

MLB best World Series bet 2024

Atlanta Braves

Best odds: +600 via Caesars

The easy World Series bet to place is on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are trading around +400 at our best sports betting sites. However, all of the pressure in 2024 will be firmly on the Dodgers, and the Atlanta Braves have quietly plugged some holes in their already stacked team.

Atlanta led all of baseball with 104 wins in 2024 before falling to their National League East rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, in the NLDS. The Braves will be out for revenge, and they've made a couple of savvy acquisitions this offseason.

Though he continued to struggle with injuries last year, left-handed starter Chris Sale looked like a quality No. 2 or 3 arm in the rotation when healthy in 2023. Now with a fresh start in Atlanta, Sale could prove to be an impact arm when the playoffs roll around.

Additionally, the Braves added a talented outfielder to go along with the star duo of reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. and budding superstar Michael Harris. Jarred Kelenic has failed to live up to the very lofty expectations many had for him since getting the call for the Seattle Mariners, though he did show signs of improvement in 2023.

Much like Sale, Kelenic now gets a fresh start away from the fans and media who labeled him a bust, and he can serve as a quality third outfielder and No. 8 hitter for a Braves team full of stars who can help him reach that next level. Even if he ends up serving as a power-speed outfielder who's a couple of wins above replacement level, that's a huge upgrade for a Braves team that trotted out Eddie Rosario for much of the 2023 campaign.

The Dodgers may be grabbing all the headlines, but the Braves are my team to beat.

MLB best player award bet 2024

Julio Rodriguez to win AL MVP

Best odds: +1200 via BetMGM

When Shohei Ohtani went down with his elbow injury late in the 2023 season, there were two players I thought held a real shot to win AL MVP with a strong finish to the campaign. The first was Corey Seager, who ended up missing too much time with an injury of his own. The second was Julio Rodriguez, who's offering the best value in this market with Ohtani now in the National League.

There are a couple of things I look for when searching through the MLB MVP odds. The first is whether the player has something that can really grab the attention of fans and voters alike. Ohtani had his pitching and hitting dual-threat abilities in the AL, and Ronald Acuna enjoyed a monstrous combo of his own with his blend of power and speed in the NL.

Rodriguez possesses the latter, as he's one of just three players Steamer projects to finish with at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases this season. Another is Acuna, and we don't care about him in the AL market. The other is Bobby Witt, and he could pose a real challenge to Rodriguez's bid.

However, another thing I look at - despite believing myself that it's dated and not indicative of being the most valuable player in baseball - is team success. FanGraphs projects Witt's Kansas City Royals to go 76-86 and finish fourth in the AL Central. Meanwhile, Rodriguez's Mariners are projected to go 86-76, good for the fourth-best record in the AL.

Finally, I look at whether a player will be forced to split MVP votes with their teammate. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will need to compete for the right to be the New York Yankees' "most valuable player." The same goes for Seager and Marcus Semien, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, and Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson.

Rodriguez faces no such competition on his team, despite it being projected to be one of the league's best. Therefore, if the Mariners live up to expectations, voters may point to Rodriguez as the "reason" for their success.

When we combine all that with the fact that he was just in the conversation this past season, this is the bet to make at our best sports betting apps when it comes to AL MVP.

MLB best player stat leader bet 2024

Juan Soto to lead MLB in home runs

Best odds: +1600 via Caesars

Juan Soto moves from the cavernous Petco Park to the hitters' paradise that is Yankee Stadium.

The Padres' home ballpark profiled as one of the worst for power hitters in 2023, with Statcast's park factor ranking it seventh-worst for home run totals. Conversely, Yankee Stadium ranked third-best among full-time MLB ballparks. The latter was even more beneficial to left-handed hitters, as it ranked second when isolating the data to lefties.

Soto felt the effects of his home park in 2023. Despite mashing a career-high 35 home runs, Soto managed only 12 in 81 home games compared to 23 in 81 road games.

Now, the opposite side of the coin is that the data suggests Soto wouldn't have been a particularly prolific power hitter if he played at Yankee Stadium last year. If Soto hit all 35 of his home run balls at only Yankee Stadium, just 27 would have left the park, which is tied for the second-lowest total among all MLB stadiums. This is likely because he was hitting home runs in areas of other ballparks that are less friendly at Yankee Stadium.

However, we've seen hitters adjust their swing when moving to Yankee Stadium before, and it's unlikely a player as talented as Soto continues to drive the ball to the deepest parts of the park rather than take advantage of New York's short porch in right field.

Steamer projects Soto to finish tied for the fifth-most homers in the majors this year at 38. Kyle Schwarber is projected to hit the second-most at only 42, so there isn't a huge gap between those ranks. In a tier of his own is Soto's teammate, Aaron Judge, who's projected for 46, but Judge's extremely short odds in this market reflect that gap.

We're getting a good number on Soto, as the players with similar projections to his are priced around +1000 or shorter at our sites with the best sportsbook promos.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Soto adjust his launch angle and swing path to yank more balls into right field. As a result, his batting average could suffer - something to keep in mind for his other futures markets - but his power numbers will skyrocket.

The superstar outfielder should easily eclipse 40 home runs if he remains healthy in 2024, and I could see him push for 50.

MLB best win total bet 2024

Oakland Athletics Over 56.5 wins

Best odds: -110 via bet365

Sure, we all know that the Oakland Athletics stink and are about to enter a season full of turmoil, but this number is far too low based on the leading projections.

Admittedly, FanGraphs' projected win total feels a bit optimistic. It projects the Athletics to finish with 72 wins in 2024, which would be an increase of 22 from 2023. I don't think Oakland reaches those heights, but another leading model is posting a number that feels far more realistic and still shows a ton of value on this Over. 

PECOTA projects the A's to finish with 64 wins this season, which would be seven more than they need to clear this total.

It's important to remember that despite access to endless amounts of data, our best sportsbooks still operate based somewhat on public perception. If the top books know the public thinks the Athletics are a joke and wants to fade them, those shops are more likely to list a lower total to avoid taking a bath on Unders. However, that's where we can swoop in and take advantage of these low totals.

We did a deep dive into this entire market with our look at the MLB win totals odds.

MLB betting odds pages

Here are our best MLB betting sites:

• Caesars Promo Code: SBRBONUSDYW | Read our Caesars Review
• BetMGM Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetMGM Review
• bet365 Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our bet365 Review
• BetRivers Promo Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetRivers Review
• FanDuel Promo Code | Read our FanDuel Review
• DraftKings Promo Code | Read our DraftKings Review

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* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.

Related pages

• Best Sports Betting Sites | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)