Vaughn Dalzell likes the odds on the Los Angeles Angels to make the AL postseason after making waves in a recent trade for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.
To Make the Postseason: Los Angeles Angels (+700)
The Angels’ confidence continues to grow with a recent trade to bolster the pitching rotation amid this hot 10-game stretch that Los Angeles is on.
The Angels and White Sox made a deal sending starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez to Los Angeles in return for minor-league prospects Edgar Quero and Ky Bush.
Giolito is 6-6 over 21 starts with a 3.79 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and .232 OBA this season. The 29-year-old RHP has been a stud at home, recording a 2.25 ERA and .188 OBA over 10 starts.
Lopez made 43 appearances in relief this season for a 2-5 record, four saves on nine opportunities, plus a .213 OBA and 4.29 ERA. Like Giolito, Lopez has been much better at home with a 3.15 ERA and .189 OBA.
Los Angeles has nine home series left out of 20 total and are 4.0 games out of an AL Wild Card spot, so expect Giolito and Lopez to garner larger workloads with the Angels.
The teams that are in the playoff race but are currently out of a postseason spot along with the Angels (52-49) are the Red Sox (55-47), Yankees (54-48), Mariners (52-50), and the Guardians (51-51).
The three squads in Wild Card spots are the Blue Jays (57-46), Astros (58-45), and the Rays (62-43). Tampa Bay and Toronto are a combined 7-13 in their past 20 games, while L.A. is heating up at 7-3 over the previous 10 outings.
Los Angeles ranks top six offensively in SLG, OPS, and OBP since the All-Star break with 20 homers (T-8th) and 64 runs scored (T-9th) in 10 games.
With Shohei Ohtani, the leading AL MVP candidate (-1100) in the lineup, there is always potential for a cluster of runs, plus Mike Trout will be back from the 10-day IL soon.
However, the pitching has been subpar with a 4.44 ERA (20th), .246 OBA (19th), 1.35 WHIP (22nd), and the sixth-most walks (372) since the All-Star game. With the recent trade bolstering the pitching rotation, the Angels are proving they will attempt a push at the AL postseason.
Los Angeles does have one of the most challenging schedules remaining with upcoming series versus Toronto, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Texas, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati -- all postseason contenders.
The road to the postseason will no doubt be a strenuous trip, but with the recent trade and Trout coming back, Los Angeles is looking more formidable for a playoff push.
At +700 odds, we may not get a better price much longer, so I will place a partial bet on Los Angeles to make the postseason.
Pick: Angels to make the postseason (0.5u)
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