Usual Suspects On Top In Early MLB Betting

Gamblers of Major League Baseball are consistent in their approach from year to year. Traditionally, the teams that are expected to be the best teams in the league get a lot of action through the first few weeks.

That is again the trend, as the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Atlanta Braves, all teams that were predicted to finish high, have gamblers drooling over the early season results.

The aforementioned teams all have at least a share of the lead in their respective divisions just two weeks into the year. The Oakland A's, the surprise winner of the American league West last season, also has started hot, leaving sports books to have to deal with the favorites paying out early on.

"Usually this early in the baseball season, you see some of the preseason favorites struggle," said Analyst Brian Grant. "This year, most of the teams predicted to win their divisions are already at the top. That makes for a good couple of weeks for gamblers."

For those bettors who like to go the other way, and play the underdog teams early in the season, their gambles may also have paid off. Milwaukee, a team not expected to compete in the National League Central, is off to an 11-4 start, and leads the Central by two games over division favorite St. Louis.

The Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners were all picked to finish in the bottom half of their divisions, and each has started strongly in 2014. The White Sox are tied with the Tigers for the lead in the AL Central.

With the baseball season being as long as it is, many gamblers choose to play season over-under win totals for teams. One team that will have some work to do to get back on track to exceed their expected win total is the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Boston is off to a 5-9 start, and is currently sitting in dead last in the American league East, three games behind the Yankees.