Odds to Win MLB The Show 20 Players League – Blake Snell Opens as Favorite
- Following the lead of the NFL and NBA, MLB will be conducting an MLB The Show tournament
- The tournament will include 30 big-league players and begins on Friday (Apr. 10)
- Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Blake Snell is the +550 favorite. Should Snell be the betting chalk?
First it was the NFL, followed by the NBA, and now, MLB is going to put on a show for fans hard-up to see some action on the diamond.
Baseball’s powers-that-be have commissioned an MLB The Show video game tournament that will feature 30 players, one from each MLB team. The action is slated to get underway Friday, April 10, at 8:00 PM ET.
The NFL staged an eight-player Madden tournament that was won by Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James. A 16-player NBA 2K20 tournament is ongoing.
Odds were given on both of those events, and sportsbooks have betting lines for all 30 entrants in the MLB The Show tourney.
Odds to Win MLB The Show 2020 Tournament
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Blake Snell | Tampa Bay Rays | +550 |
| Amir Garrett | Cincinnati Reds | +600 |
| Trevor May | Minnesota Twins | +600 |
| Hunter Pence | San Francisco Giants | +1200 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | Boston Red Sox | +2000 |
| Ian Happ | Chicago Cubs | +2000 |
| Lance McCullers Jr | Houston Astros | +2000 |
| Ty Buttrey | Los Angeles Angels | +2000 |
| Gavin Lux | Los Angeles Dodgers | +2000 |
| Jeff McNeill | New York Mets | +2000 |
| Tommy Kahnle | New York Yankees | +2000 |
| Rhys Hoskins | Philadelphia Phillies | +1200 |
| Juan Soto | Washington Nationals | +2000 |
| Jon Duplantier | Arizona Diamondbacks | +3500 |
| Luke Jackson | Atlanta Braves | +2000 |
| Dwight Smith Jr | Baltimore Orioles | +2000 |
| Lucas Giolito | Chicago White Sox | +3500 |
| Carlos Santana | Cleveland Indians | +3500 |
| David Dahl | Colorado Rockies | +3500 |
| Niko Goodrum | Detroit Tigers | +3500 |
| Brett Phillips | Kansas City Royals | +3500 |
| Ryne Stanek | Miami Marlins | +3500 |
| Josh Hader | Milwaukee Brewers | +2000 |
| Jesus Luzardo | Oakland Athletics | +3500 |
| Cole Tucker | Pittsburgh Pirates | +3500 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr | San Diego Padres | +3500 |
| Carl Edwards Jr | Seattle Mariners | +3500 |
| Matt Carpenter | St. Louis Cardinals | +3500 |
| Joey Gallo | Texas Rangers | +3500 |
| Bo Bichette | Toronto Blue Jays | +3500 |
Odds taken April 10th.
Oddsmakers have established Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell as the +550 favorite to win. Surprisingly, Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Amir Garrett, who beat Snell 2-1 in a four-player MLB The Show tournament conducted in late March, is the co-second-favorite at +600 along with Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Trevor May
Snell and Garrett will square off in the first game of the competition on Friday. The game will be streamed live at www.twitch.tv/classiclyfamous.
Both the NFL and NBA video game competitions benefitted COVID-19 related charities. The MLB The Show event will raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club of Canada and the USA in each of the 30 team’s communities. Talks are underway with ESPN to carry some of the games live.
How MLB The Show Tourney Will Work
Both the NFL and NBA went with single-elimination formats similar to March Madness. But baseball isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. This is the approach that will be taken during this competition.
Each team will face each other once in a round-robin 29-game season to be contested over the next three weeks. All players will compete as their own MLB team. Games will be three innings in length.
At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams will qualify for the postseason. Ultimately, a virtual World Series champion will be crowned.
Small Sample Size
Garrett deployed his virtual self to post the save as his Reds defeated Snell’s Rays to win the four-player, single-elimination MLB The Show competition conducted last month.
May and Hunter Pence of the San Francisco Giants also participated and are also entered in this event.
Some of you may have heard, I’m repping the @twins in the MLB the Show league.
You can also call me Commisioner May, sir.
All the highlights will be here, so sub to: https://t.co/t6DuPxl267
All the live action here, so follow: https://t.co/7rx21JIbKJ pic.twitter.com/MdTUEjz0au
— Trevor May (@IamTrevorMay) April 10, 2020
Why give Snell the edge when he lost previously to Garrett? Perhaps the oddsmakers are taking into account the longer schedule, combined with knowledge that the Rays were 96-66 and a playoff team last season. The Reds went 75-87 and finished fourth in the National League Central.
May is also playing with a regning playoff team in the defending AL Central champion Twins.
Betting The Show
Eleven of the players involved are former All Stars. Five own World Series rings.
Both of last year’s World Series teams, the champion Washington Nationals (Juan Soto) and the runner-up Houston Astros (Lance McCullers Jr) are +2000 longshots. One question must be asked, of course: did the game’s creators include a cheat code for the Astros?
Representing #ForTheH 🤘@LMcCullers43 is on the sticks for us in the @MLBTheShow Players League.
🎮: https://t.co/GypPLBnjWd pic.twitter.com/FhyU2g9GpD
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 10, 2020
Perhaps the most telling stat is that eight players in the competition are under the age of 25. The average age of video game users tends to skew younger. Both Snell (23) and Garrett (24) fit this demographic and are avid MLB The Show players.
If you’re seeking a price, maybe look at Gavin Lux (21) and the Los Angeles Dodgers at +2000.
Pick: Blake Snell (+550)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
