The Toronto Blue Jays are the hottest team in baseball, and they've used an 11-game winning streak to vault themselves into the role of 4-1 favorites to win the World Series at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
The Blue Jays have lost only once since acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies and ace starter David Price in a deal with the Detroit Tigers before the trade deadline, putting them in prime position to qualify for the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 1993.
Toronto’s main competition in the American League looks to be the Kansas City Royals, who are 5-1 to win the World Series and won the pennant last year as a Wild Card team.
The Royals have a comfortable lead in the AL Central and were the World Series favorites before the Blue Jays went on their hot run, also picking up a quality starting pitcher when they got Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds.
Other top contenders in the American League include the New York Yankees and Houston Astros, who are both 12-1 to win the World Series. The Yankees recently gave up the AL East lead to Toronto, while Houston currently sits atop the AL West ahead of the Los Angeles Angels (18-1).
The National League boasts seven quality teams that are poised to compete not only for the pennant but also a World Series title in the Los Angeles Dodgers (8-1), St. Louis Cardinals (8-1), New York Mets (17-2), Washington Nationals (14-1), San Francisco Giants (14-1), Chicago Cubs (14-1) and Pittsburgh Pirates (16-1).
The NL Central alone has three of the four teams with the most wins in the Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates, setting up for all three to make the playoffs this year.
The Dodgers have been big disappointments as favorites the last couple of years, falling to St. Louis in the postseason each time. However, Los Angeles still hopes to outlast the defending World Series champion Giants in the NL West and win the division for the third straight year. San Francisco won the World Series last year as a wild-card team.
In the NL East, the Mets have played extremely well lately to overtake the Nationals for the division lead. New York has arguably the best pitching staff in baseball and figures to battle Washington for a playoff spot until the end of the season.
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