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Best MLB Futures Bets to Place for Second Half of 2024 Season

The futures to target for second half of the MLB season, beginning on Friday as the race to the postseason officially begins.

By Benjamin Upson

A ball cap sports the Cleveland Guardians logo in the third inning of the MLB Inter-league game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Guardians at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
A ball cap sports the Cleveland Guardians logo in the third inning of the MLB Inter-league game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Guardians at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. / Sam Greene / The Enquirer / USA TODAY
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With the midsummer classic in the rearview mirror, Major League Baseball teams get ready to hit the diamond once again for the remaining second half of the 2024 season. There have been surprising twists and turns along the way, with the realization of postseason baseball slowly beginning to sink in.

Much like the beginning of the year, the midseason break is a great time to reevaluate the future betting market. While prices are somewhat more limited than back on Opening Day, there are still plenty of options to scout out with a more advanced chance of cashing in. Here’s what to target as we move along in 2024.

Best MLB Second Half Futures Of 2024

  • New York Mets To MAKE The Playoffs
  • Paul Skenes To WIN National League Cy Young
  • Cleveland Guardians OVER 91.5 Wins

New York Mets To MAKE The Playoffs (+130, FanDuel)

Call me crazy, but there’s some vibe that the New York Mets are giving off in the past month. This team feels like they are bound for some sort of destiny based on their recent play. The entire Grimace mascot effect seems like it literally changed the course of the season (shoutout McDonald’s). The Mets are 21-9 dating back to a June 12th victory against the Marlins. Now they find themselves occupying the final NL Wild Card position at 49-46 after being nearly six games back at one point.

Offensively, this team is making strides. Shortstop Francisco Lindor is starting to heat up a bit, up to a .253 average with 17 home runs and 52 RBI. In 14 games this July, he has reached 15 hits, 4 home runs, 12 RBI and 11 walks so far, getting on base more consistently. In the last 30 days, left fielder Brandon Nimmo has 7 home runs and 23 RBI. And as bad as he’s been, second baseman Jeff McNeil entered the all-star break on a 3-game hitting streak with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI. It’s all about progress at this point and manager Carlos Mendoza has this team starting to click with each week.

It’s not going to take much to compete in the National League this season, as we’ll likely have a wild card team hovering somewhere near the .500 mark when all is said and done late September. If the Mets can simply weather the storm and get roughly 85 wins, they will be right there down the stretch of the season. This should be an active trade deadline as well to try and make some noise come October. The price is relatively short here on them to make the playoffs, but this team is heating up so take it now.

Paul Skenes To WIN National League Cy Young (+500, FanDuel)

After all the hype that we heard about the newfound ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes, he has lived up to it and then some. This is already a new face of the league after two months of playing. Skenes became the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since 1995 and has stated his case for being in the Cy Young race, all at the age of 22. The rest of the way, he is an absolute must-watch.

It’s been a season to remember for the youngster, as he’s already at a mark of 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA since his debut. Skenes has allowed just 5 earned runs across his previous five starts. He’s additionally pitched 6+ innings in each of those outings. What has really launched the Cy Young discussion was his most recent start against Milwaukee on July 11th. He tossed 7 hitless innings with 11 strikeouts and a walk. That was against the National League Central division leading Brewers of all teams.

This price has plummeted down from +5000 just a few weeks ago.

There has been no pitcher close to what Skenes has been piecing together. He is a special talent and was clearly worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.

I’m banking on a stellar finish for his year as his form has been just incredible since he came into the league in May. I believe this price is still a touch generous at this point. The market will keep hopping on so take this now before the juice that’s still left totally dries up.

Cleveland Guardians OVER 91.5 Wins (-135, FanDuel)

Something special is happening in Cleveland this season.

At the midpoint of the season, the Guardians find themselves in prime position in the American League Central division with a 4.5 game cushion. First year manager Stephen Vogt has this team headed in the right direction and potentially a deep run into the month of October.

The statistics look good on both sides as the team ranks 9th in runs per game (4.78), 8th in stolen bases (0.83) and 7th in team ERA (3.71). Left fielder Steven Kwan leads the AL in batting average at .352 (99-281) with 9 home runs and 27 RBI. First baseman Josh Naylor continues to impress with 22 homers, 70 RBI and 36 walks at the break. He’s on pace for career highs in all three categories.

The one concerning piece is the difficulty that remains on their schedule. Cleveland will face the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers three times each.

As for their division rival Twins, there’s still eight meetings left between them. Still, this team is overachieving at this stage and are going to keep building for October baseball. The Guardians need to just play .500 baseball the rest of the way for this bet to hit. Is that so hard to ask?

Based on the incredible 58-37 first half, I’ll gladly take the over here.

Note: Odds are subject to change.

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