1) New York Yankees (46-43)
I’m starting to think this is all just a simulation after the events that took place in the Astros/Yankees series this past weekend. Even at 46-43 this team has so many negatives and question marks heading into the second half of the season. It is hard to judge the morale of this clubhouse, but it seems as though all of the Yankees’ Twitter is calling for Boone’s head. I don’t blame them, it’s hard to watch a team invent new ways to lose almost daily.

I don’t think there is a worse feeling in sports betting than losing a bet in the 9th inning. Those kinds of losses will make you question what you have done wrong in your life to deserve this. You can’t hurt someone until you give them hope and then take it away and that seems to be exactly what the Yankees season is going to be about. At this point, it seems as though Chapman has forgotten how to close a game. Their all-time great “closer” has looked just about as bad as you can these last couple of weeks. Blowing saves almost regularly, and in horrible fashion. On a brighter note, it was nice to see Cole finally get back to form against this Astros after what seemed to be his career spiraling out of control after the MLB banned the sticky stuff.

From a gambling perspective, I do think this team has a solid second half of the year and makes a run at the AL championship. I for one am not against an Astros vs. Yankees rematch on MLBs biggest stage this post-season. There is some unfinished business between the two. Credit: Sports Illustrated
2) Atlanta Braves (44-45)
To the horror of MLB fans everywhere, this team lost an All-Star and a leader in Ronald Acuna Jr. this past week. He tore his ACL attempting a diving catch against Miami. Predictably their NL title odds were slashed almost in half immediately. The question for this team is how will they respond? Being 4 games back in the NL East they now have a very steep uphill battle to make the post-season. I do think they are in a good division to do it. I don’t trust the Mets or Phillies to hold them off (I think the Nationals end up winning this division).

The response from this team the next day wasn’t too indicative either way. They battled hard at the plate but weren’t able to overcome 7 runs scored by the Marlins. Will this team pack it up and look towards next season? I don’t think so. Although I wouldn’t pick them to make it out of the NL this year (I wasn’t picking them even with Acuna) I still think we see good value in this team from a betting perspective. They are likely to be undervalued in many different games especially right after the break.

We will need to be very careful betting this team as we wait to see the effect of this injury on morale. If they can show some life I will be looking for opportunities to take this team at undervalued lines.

Credit: Fox News
3) Blue Jays (45-42)
The Blue Jays if anything are a really exciting young team. With players like Gurriel Jr., Bichette, and Biggio (just to name a few) coupled with the veteran leadership of Springer and Semien it seems as though this team has everything it needs to make a run. Not to mention this team wasn’t even at full strength in the early stages of the season. With a healthy roster and elite pitching staff lead by Ryu, I think this team will have some nice betting opportunities after the break.

Being 8 games back in their division to a very good Boston Red Sox team their best chance for the postseason will be in the Wild Card. They currently sit 4.5 games back of the Oakland Athletics. For completeness, I must mention that the Mariners are one game in front of them (3rd place), but I still don’t take them as a serious threat and expect them to fall off the rest of the season.

We will continue to look for value on this squad over at Line Prophet LLC as the season continues. They open up against the Texas Rangers right after the break. If there is ever a series to get back on track I think catching the Rangers at home would be that series. I would expect to see these lines end up around -150 to -175 with the Blue Jays being the favorite but could be worth the price. Look to play the most even pitching matchup to get the best line value, then pound it as they should handle the Rangers easily, Credit: Bluebird Banter

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