Cleveland Guardians Remain Disrespected by Current Vegas Odds

The Cleveland Guardians are 8-2 in their last 10 games, back over the .500 mark (15-14), and find themselves just 3 games back of the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central division.

They also just roared back with a 12-9 victory Monday night on the road vs. the White Sox; scoring six runs in the ninth inning to force extra innings.

Yet, Vegas is telling Cleveland to kick rocks when it comes to their postseason chances this year.

According to the latest futures odds over at WynnBET Sportsbook, the Guardians are +5000 to win the American League Pennant, and are +10000 to win the World Series. That value puts them ninth in the AL on the board, and tied for 19th overall in all of Major League Baseball.

For comparison's sake, their 50/1 futures price to win the AL puts them in the same conversation as the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, a combined 17-36 so far this season and two bottom six offenses in baseball.

Curious to know where the Guardians are offensively? How about top 5 in almost every significant batting category there is.

Via Zack Meisel of The Athletic, the Guardians' average of 4.71 runs a game has largely been a function of what baseball used to be, many many years ago.

He writes, "The Guardians are finally establishing a new brand in the batter’s box, one that represents the antithesis of many hitting trends across the league. They work counts. They string together singles and doubles. They make a lot of contact. They make pitchers groan. They make umpires dip into their pockets for more baseballs. They make more noise at the plate than they have in recent years."

Cleveland's ability to put the ball in play is starting to gain traction around the rest of baseball, but they're also getting on base as well. Both Jose Ramirez as well as Steven Kwan have walked more than they've struck out this season.

Concerned their a bit too one-dimensional? The Guardians team ERA ranks 17th in baseball at 3.99, but their fielder independent pitching (FIP) of 3.69 ranks 13th. Ace pitcher Shane Bieber has gotten off to his worst start in years, but remains tied for the favorite to win the AL Cy Young at WynnBET with Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays.

If that sounds more like a cellar dweller than a dark horse contender this season, then please take my bet.

No team in baseball offers more value than the Guardians right now, and with a wide open AL Central up for grabs, now's the time to snag a little bit on a very friendly futures price.

Follow all of Ben Heisler's betting plays in real-time HERE