3 Dark Horse Teams to Bet to Win the World Series (Is St. Louis the Team of Destiny?)

Sure, the Dodgers look like one of the best baseball teams ever assembled, the Braves are surging and look poised to repeat, even the Astros are back to their dominant form in the American League, but sometimes we get so caught up in the favorites that we miss out on some value further down the board.

Let’s take a look at three of the best dark-horse teams to bet at the start of the MLB Postseason. 

Longshot Bets To Win the World Series

• Cleveland Guardians +3000 (FanDuel)
• St. Louis Cardinals +1800 (BetMGM)
• Toronto Blue Jays +1600 (FanDuel)

Cleveland Guardians +3000

Let’s start off right away with the longest shot out of the entire field. At least that’s what the sportsbooks say about Cleveland. They have the youngest lineup of position players in baseball with an average age of 26.2 years old, that’s younger than the average Triple-A team. You might say that the inexperience will cost them, but sometimes it’s good for a team to not know what they’re supposed to be nervous about in the postseason. They are also led by Jose Ramirez who is like the veteran everybody looks up to. Granted. Ramirez has struggled in October throughout his career, but he has been excellent all season and that could quickly turn around. 

The real case for Cleveland is their rotation, Shane Bieber has been nails this year with a 2.88 ERA across 200 innings, Triston McKenzie threw 191 innings this year and has a 2.96 ERA and 190 strikeouts. If those two both pitch at a dominant level and the bullpen, which is top five in MLB, carry this team that went 52-29 in the second half of the season, then Cleveland could get back to the World Series for the first time since 2016 and maybe even win it. 

St. Louis Cardinals +1800

The St. Louis Cardinals had a strong second half of the year just like Cleveland, but have a bit more uncertainty in their starting rotation. Not because they don’t have the pitchers, but because they have too many. Jordan Montegomery has been very good for St. Louis since coming over from New York and likely slots in at the top of the rotation, then there’s Jose Quintana for another reliable left-handed option, Jack Flaherty who has been pitching better as he builds back up from his injury and then there’s always Adam Wainwright. 

The Cardinals have maybe the two best hitters in the National League in Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado to carry their lineup and complement their depth of starting pitching. I placed a future on this team back in August when they were hot out of the all-star break and Flaherty was coming back. If he turns into the ace he once was in the postseason then I could look like a very smart man. 

Not to mention the team of destiny feel around this whole thing with Yadier Molin and Albert Pujols riding off into the sunset together with Waino right behind them. 

Toronto Blue Jays +1600

Toronto has the sixth best odds, that counts as a dark-horse right? The best case for Toronto is their lineup just smashes their way through the playoffs and the Rogers Centre is rocking every night. They’re led by Vladdy Jr. and despite a down season with 32 homers and an .818 OPS he still hits everything and hits it hard. If his luck turns and a few line drive outs turn into doubles or fly balls into home runs then he could easily carry this offense. 

Alek Manoah had a 0.88 ERA in September and if he continues to dominate then they Blue Jays have a legit 1-2 punch with him and Kevin Gausman atop their rotation that has a chance to carry them. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.