2020 MLB Division Odds Tracker

• Some surprise division winners emerged in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 baseball season.
• The graphs below show how the divisional futures shifted for all 30 teams over the course of the year.
• See the current MLB division odds here.

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None of the 2020 MLB division winners were true longshots, but the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics produced improbable results. Tampa ran away with the AL East, finishing seven games ahead of the heavily favored Yankees, while the A’s won the AL West by seven games over the favored Astros.

The graphs below display the 2020 divisional odds from the opening until the final week of the regular season.

• AL East / AL Central / AL West
• NL East / NL Central / NL West

AL East

Sep. 22: Tampa still holds a 4.5-game lead with six to play. The AL East futures are no longer on the board at any sportsbook.

Sep. 8: This race is all but over. TB is a -2000 favorite, holding a 4.5-game lead with 18 left to play.

Aug. 27: TB has taken a 2.5-game lead on NYY and is now the odds-on favorite to win the AL East at -132.

Aug. 21: Tampa has caught New York in the standings, but oddsmakers still see the Pinstripes winning the division. They remain -317 favorites compared to +213 for the Rays.

Aug. 19: The Rays (+288) closed the gap a little on the division-leading Yankees, who remain odds-on chalk at -430.

Aug. 10: The 10-6 Yankees already have a two-game lead on the division. No other team is better than .500. NYY’s odds shortened to -540.

July 27: After losing two of three to the Orioles, Boston’s odds dropped from +1033 to +1233.

July 14: The Yankees, who were as short as -800 in the preseason, are entering the season at -298. TB improved from +348 to +310.

Mar. 18: No team saw its divisional odds improve more during the coronavirus hiatus than the Rays, who moved from +426 to +348, even though the delay gives NYY’s stars time to heal.

Mar. 5: The Red Sox’ odds went from +897 to +950 after news of Chris Sale’s elbow injury.

Feb. 26: Injuries to Luis Severino and Giancarlo Stanton have brought the Yankees’ odds back to earth, dropping from -800 to -478.

Feb. 14: The Yankees opened as short -350 favorites, and then were immediately bet up to -800!

Final AL East Divisional Odds

Odds as of Sep. 8, 2020.

AL Central

Sep. 23: CHW leads the division by 0.5 games over MIN but is a sizable -163 favorite with five games remaining.

Sep. 8: CLE (+160), CHW (+160), and MIN (+175) are all within a game of each other in the standings.

Aug. 27: MIN, CHW, and CLE are all within half a game, but MIN remains a -106 favorite.

Aug. 21: Cleveland is now just half-a-game behind Minnesota but remain +245 longshots while the Twins are still odds-on favorites at -157.

Aug. 19: A slim 1.5-game lead is enough to keep the Twins way out in front, odds-wise. At -160, they have an implied probability of nearly 62% to win the AL Central.

Aug. 10: Despite losing four straight, the Twins still have a half-game lead on Cleveland and Detroit and remain odds-on AL Central favorites at -148.

July 27: The Tigers (+6667) now have better odds than the Royals (+7833) after winning two of three versus the Reds to open the season.

July 14: The favored Twins saw their odds fade slightly in a 60-game schedule (-163 to -143).

Mar. 18: The Indians (+293) and White Sox (+310) keep moving closer together as bettors buy into the young, talented South Siders.

Mar. 5: The White Sox hype keeps growing; the Chi-Sox’ AL Central odds improved from +324 to +313.

Feb. 26: Minnesota has improved from -150 to -163, while the Indians (+240 to +308) and White Sox (+288 to +324) both fell.

Feb. 14: The Twins open as odds-on favorites to repeats as AL Central champs at -150.

Final AL Central Odds

AL West

Sep. 22: Oakland has clinched the division, holding a 6.5-game lead with just six to play.

Sep. 8: OAK (-1300) still holds a 4.5-game lead on HOU and, with just 18 games left, are massive -1300 favorites.

Aug. 27: OAK (-438) now has the best record in the AL at 18-12 and stretched its lead over Houston back to 4.5 games.

Aug. 21: The Astros have now won eight in a row, but are still a couple games behind the A’s and remain +236 longshots.

Aug. 19: The A’s lead is down to just three games over Houston, but their odds improved from -240 to – 340. The Astros faded from +195 to +260.

Aug. 10: The biggest divisional-odds movement so far is in the AL West where OAK (-240) and HOU (+195) have basically flipped positions from the preseason. OAK owns a five-game lead in the div.

July 27: Justin Verlander’s arm strain has sent Houston’s odds south, falling from -167 to -109.

July 14: HOU faded from -206 to -167, while second-favorite OAK improved from +276 to +260.

Mar. 18: Houston fell further (+213 to +206) while Oakland continued to surge (+288 to +276)

Mar. 5: The Athletics are closing even further on the Astros, sitting at +288 and -213, respectively, in the latest update. For context, they opened at +375 and -275.

Feb. 26: Early money is fading the Astros, who fell from -275 to -215 over the last ten days.

Feb. 14: Hate them or … hate them, the Astros are once again heavy favorites to win the AL West at -275.

Final AL West  Odds

NL East

Sep. 22: ATL has a four-game lead with six to play. They haven’t officially clinched, but the NL East odds are down across the board.

Sep. 8: PHI (+300) is just two games back of ATL, but the Braves have improved to -352 favorites.

Aug. 27: ATL (-314) is a massive favorite because the only team that’s within two games is the Marlins.

Aug. 21: Even though PHI (+375) and WAS (+500) sit at the bottom of the division, they still have the second and third-best odds to catch ATL.

Aug. 19: Atlanta is now an odds-on favorite at -128. No other team is shorter than +460 (Phillies and Nationals).

Aug. 10: The Marlins (7-3) look like the biggest challenger to the Braves (11-6) in the AL East … so the Braves’ odds have improved significantly (from +193 to +110) since the start of the season.

July 27: It’s unclear how the Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak will impact the NL East race at this point; for now, the odds remain about where they were in the preseason.

July 14: The Phillies improved from +378 to +323, but it’s the Marlins (+26625 to +11667) who got the biggest boost from the shorter season.

Mar. 18: Consensus is that Atlanta (+181) is still a cut above Washington (+244).  Indeed, the Nationals are closer to the third-favorite Mets (+281) than the Braves.

Mar. 5: The Phillies keep falling. PHI, which opened at +295, is now +377.

Feb. 26: The Nats (+238) are already closing the gap on the Braves (+186).

Feb. 14: The Braves (+173) are slightly favored over the reigning World Series-champion Nationals (+250).

Final NL East Odds

NL Central

Sep. 22: The Cubs have a comfortable 4.5-game lead with six to play. The odds are off the board.

Sep. 8: CHC’s odds are now -200, considerably longer than the -400 odds they had three weeks ago. STL is +200.

Aug. 27: The Cubs are still -343 favorites, but that’s longer than a week ago thanks to a 5-5 stretch.

Aug. 21: CHC is maintaining its four-ish-game lead and are closing in on -400 in the NL Central odds.

Aug. 19: Chicago still holds a 3.5-game lead on STL and MIL. Their odds are now -375, the third-best divisional odds among all MLB teams.

Aug. 10: The Cubs have raced out to a 10-3 start and hold a four-game lead in the Central. Their odds moved from +225 to -144.

July 27: Milwaukee is the only NL Central team that saw its odds get worse, fading from +303 to +333.

July 14: The Cubs (+235) have overtake the Cardinals (+240) as division favorites with the Reds (+248) just behind.

Mar. 18: The only big change was the Pirates falling even further back from the other four teams, dropping from +10000 to +23750. The other four are between +210 and +358.

Mar. 5: Not much movement here recently. The Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, and Brewers are all between +209 and  +360 still.

Feb. 26: The Reds’ odds have improved the most in the NL Central early on, going from +300 to +256, which is now well ahead of the Brewers (+370).

Feb. 14: This is the closest division in baseball according to oddsmakers with four teams between +200 and +300

Final NL Central Odds

NL West

Sep. 22: The Padres are four back of the Dodgers with six to play and could still mathematically win the NL West, but no sportsbooks are offering odds at this point.

Sep. 8: Hope you didn’t fade the Dodgers this year. They lead the Padres by 4.5 games and now have -5333 odds to win the NL West.

Aug. 27: The Padres (+638) are a distant second to the Dodgers (-746), sitting four games in arrears.

Aug. 21: Thanks to a losing skid by the Rockies, LAD now has a four-game lead and -555 odds, the best of any team in the majors to win its division.

Aug. 19: The Dodgers are 3.5 games up on the suddenly-sputtering Rockies, but actually faded from -401 to -385 thanks to Arizona and San Diego showing signs of life.

Aug. 10: The upstart Rockies (+538) are half a game up on LAD, but the Dodgers remain prohibitive favorites at -401.

July 27: Colorado saw the biggest movement early on, improving from +3167 to +2600 after winning their opening series with Texas, 2-1.

July 14: LAD’s odds are fading! Once a prohibitive -900 favorite, the Dodgers enter the year just -622. (Yes, that’s sarcasm.)

Mar. 18: No significant movement to report during the coronavirus suspension.

Mar. 5: The odds for the least-interesting division in baseball are stagnating. LAD remains a -863 favorite, barely moving from -866 at last check.

Feb. 26: Not much change in the NL West. LAD is still a massive favorite, though dropped slightly from -900 to -867.

Feb. 14: LAD opened as a -900 favorite. They have won seven in a row and show no signs of slowing down.

Final NL West  Odds

 

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Archived Divisional Odds: 2019