Odds To Win The AL Pennant: Pinstripes Leading The Charge

After struggling for most of August amid severe injuries, the New York Yankees are still atop the odds to win the 2020 American League pennant. With the season coming to a close, the team is back to being healthy and is peaking at just the right time. This coincides with the Yanks also being one of the betting favorites to win the 2020 World Series.

Online sportsbook Bovada has the Bronx Bombers as the +330 favorites to secure the AL pennant. They’re followed by the Tampa Bay Rays at +340, the Oakland Athletics at +450, the Chicago White Sox at +500, the Minnesota Twins at +600, and the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays, both at +1000, to round out the top teams on the oddsboard.

Here’s a look at the full list of odds for the 2020 American League pennant:

Who is Favored to Win the 2020 AL Pennant?

Odds as of September 17 at Bovada

Here’s a look at the NL pennant odds.

Why Are The Yankees Still Favored?

In what may come as a bit of a surprise, although New York has won the most AL pennants (40), the Yankees haven’t won one since 2009. That said, the Yanks have competed for the pennant four times over that span, including last year.

The Yankees were once again bitten by the injury bug, with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres all spending time on the IL. Despite the plethora of injuries, the Bronx Bombers have stayed afloat in the AL, with consistent at-bats from leadoff hitter D.J. LeMahieu and the power swing of Luke Voit.

Now that most of the team is healthy again and Gerrit Cole is striking out baseball players at a rate of 11.9 K/9, the team has put itself in a position to not just make the playoffs, but to do damage as well.

As of today, September 17, the Yankees sit three games behind the Rays in the AL East with just 11 games to go. The Yanks are getting solid starting pitching and have a fearless back end of the bullpen that will scare opponents in any game. They have exactly what it takes to make it to the Fall Classic in October.

What Team is Providing Better Value?

This might not be a huge shock after all the offseason moves they made, but the team that has been extremely feisty and tough to play against this season is the Chicago White Sox.

The Pale Hose are sitting at +500, a number that has gone up considerably since they opened the season at +1600.

Dallas Keuchel’s career looks to have been resurrected in Chicago. His numbers are sparkling and look eerily similar to those of 2015, when he took home the AL Cy Young. The White Sox also have the steady Lucas Giolito, one of two pitchers this season to throw a no-hitter.

If the pitching has been good, then the offense has been outstanding. The White Sox are fourth in all of baseball in runs per game with 5.46. They brought in catcher Yasmani Grandal, outfielder Nomar Mazara and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion via free agency, but it’s the play of Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu that stands out. Anderson leads the majors in batting average and Abreu in hits. Abreu is also second to Voit in home runs in the AL with 16.

Throw in young and electrifying power hitters Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada and you have yourself a pretty dangerous lineup. Chicago currently owns a two-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central and has all the pieces in place to make a deep postseason run. At +500, I think they are providing fantastic value.

For more betting information, check out our MLB page.