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MLB The Show Odds: Joey Gallo Already -500 to Win AL West

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in MLB Baseball

Updated Apr 14, 2020 · 4:39 PM PDT

Joey Gallo chatting with Chris Davis
Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo is the overwhelming -500 favorite to win the AL West title in the MLB The Show League. Photo by Keith Allison (flickr).
  • Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo is 4-0 and a -500 favorite to win the AL West title in the MLB The Show League
  • No other AL West player is better than .500. Is there anyone worthy enough to challenge Gallo?
  • Analysis of the odds, as well as projections and picks are contained in the following story

Joey Gallo is known more for his bat than his speed. Nonetheless, the Texas Rangers slugger is off to a running start in the AL West Division of the MLB The Show League.

Gallo is 4-0 to top the division. No other AL West player is better than 2-2.

Baseball is often referred to as a marathon as opposed to a sprint, but Gallo’s break from the blocks has certainly caught the eye of online sportsbooks, which have established Gallo as the overwhelming -500 chalk to win the AL West title.

MLB The Show League AL West Title Odds

Player Team Record Odds
Joey Gallo Texas Rangers 4-0 -500
Lance McCullers Jr Houston Astros 2-2 +800
Ty Buttrey Los Angeles Angels 1-3 +1100
Jesus Luzardo Oakland Athletics 1-3 +1400
Carl Edwards Jr Seattle Mariners 2-2 +1400

Odds taken April 14th.

Each player, representing their current team, will face each other once in a round-robin 29-game season to be contested over a three-week span. Games are 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.

Games are being live-streamed on MLB social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch) MLB Network’s Twitch site, MLB The Show social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch), the clubs’ social media accounts and MLB.com.

Players will also stream their games from their individual Twitch or YouTube accounts.

Gallo Surprising Himself

When invited to represent the Rangers in this tournament while COVID-19 has MLB on hiatus, Gallo admitted to being concerned. He insists he’d only played MLB The Show about 15 times beforehand.

His numbers suggest otherwise. Gallo isn’t merely winning, he’s dominating opponents.

The Rangers outfielder drilled Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays 11-2. He blanked Amir Garrett of the Cincinnati Reds 6-0. Down 4-2 to fellow AL West competitor Lance McCullers Jr., Gallo unleashed a seven-run third inning to take control of the game. He also defeated Trevor May of the Minnesota Twins.

Rest of AL West Treading Water

Not only is McCullers two games behind Gallo, he’s already lost his lone game to his Texas opponent. Carl Edwards Jr of the Seattle Mariners also sits with McCullers at 2-2.

Edwards, Jesus Lazardo (1-3) of the Oakland A’s and Ty Buttrey (1-3) of the Los Angeles Angels all still have the chance to play head-to-head against Gallo and put a dent into his advantage.

Tough To Bet Gallo Now

Gallo isn’t merely running with the big dogs. He’s leashing them.

In the opening line on this event, Snell (+550), Garett (+600) and May (+600) were the betting favorites.  Garrett beat Snell in the final of a four-player single-elimination MLB The Show tournament held last month.

So far, Gallo is the only player to beat Garrett (3-1). He’s one of two players to defeat Snell (6-2).

He’s scored 30 runs in four games. Gallo owns a +24 run differential.

The time to bet him was prior to the start of the league. He was one of the longshots on the board to win it all with a betting line of +3500.

Wagering on Gallo at -500 to take the AL West simply isn’t worth the investment at this early stage of competition.

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