Vaughn Dalzell breaks down why he expects the Mariners and Blue Jays to make the postseason in the AL.
Toronto Blue Jays (-185)
The Toronto Blue Jays are currently holding a Wild Card spot in the AL and even with a loaded AL East, I expect Toronto to make the postseason.
Toronto welcomed the resurgence of Alek Manoah in his previous start and with one of the most dangerous offenses and AL CY Young candidate Kevin Gausman leading the pitching staff, the Blue Jays will make noise in the second half of the season.
The Blue Jays own the 13th-toughest strength of schedule (SOS) remaining compared to the Rays (toughest) and Orioles (8th), so I like Toronto’s odds compared to the rest of the AL East competition.
I consider Toronto live to win the AL East despite being 5.5 games back of Tampa Bay.
I expect teams like Texas, Boston, and Cleveland to regress in the second half of the season, while Toronto, Seattle, and Baltimore continue to head in the right direction.
I played this at -185 odds during the All-Star break and would go out to -200 or pivot to AL East Champ at +500 or better.
Pick: Blue Jays (1u)
Seattle Mariners (+425)
Seattle’s pitching staff owns the third-best ERA in baseball (3.72) with the second-fewest homers allowed (94), fourth-best OBA (.234), and top-ranked WHIP (1.17).
The offense has been the opposite with a .231 BA (28th) but the middle of the pack in terms of scoring (19th).
The Seattle offense posted similar numbers last season and was assisted by a fantastic pitching staff that finished 8th in ERA and top 10 in WHIP and OBA, which seems to be the case again.
Seattle owns the 7th-easiest SOS remaining and the only teams in the AL playoff with easier schedules are Houston and Mariners.
The Mariners are currently 47-46 with seven of their next 10 games against the Twins and a seven-game homestand to finish out the regular season versus the Astros and Rangers, the two teams ahead of the Mariners in the AL West race.
Seattle holds good value at +425 since they’re still in the AL West hunt at 4.5 games back and 69 games remaining.
Seattle made the postseason last year and I believe they can do it again. I’d play this down to +300.
Pick: Mariners (1u)
Start off your Sunday with MLB Sunday leadoff on Peacock featuring exclusive games with no blackout restrictions. Check out the schedule now to see if your favorite team is playing and join for one low annual fee.
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR BETTING TOOLS:
Live Odds: NFL | NBA | MLB | CFB | CBB | NHL
Player Props: NFL | NBA | MLB | CFB | CBB | NHL