Losing MLB Teams That Still Have A Chance To Beat The Odds

The Chicago Cubs, the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals are still the overwhelming MLB odds favorites to win it all in 2016, and the majority of the betting public continues to pound hard on these teams whenever they feature in the online betting boards. But what about the oft-ignored losing MLB teams? Can we find some that can offer us with some good online betting value for the remaining quarter of the 2016 MLB regular season?

Analyzing The Losing MLB Teams That Still Have A Chance To Beat The Odds

   

Kansas City Royals (64-60, 67-57-0 ATS)

Okay, the Kansas City Royals are not a losing team, but we might as well call them that, considering this is a team that went above the .500 mark last week (Aug. 19 to be specific), their first time reaching that mark since July 22. In fact, two weeks ago, no one (me included) would have dare believed that the Royals would be in the hunt of the playoffs, as they were placed far behind in the AL’s second wild card race. Fast forward to now, the Royals have not only transformed themselves from a losing team to one that is over .500, but they importantly trail the wobbling Orioles by just 3 1/2 games in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the American spot. That is largely thanks to Kansas City’s incredible eight-game winning streak and a remarkable 13-2 mark in their last 15 games. Key to this run is the fact that Kansas City shutdown bullpen is back to its solid plays while the Royals’ starters have also improved on their game. For example, the Royals were baseball’s lone team to finish with a perfect record last week (at 7-0), and the team’s pitching staff was exceptional, giving up a total of just 9 runs in their seven games against the Tigers and Twins. Most noteworthy of these starters is Danny Duffy, who’s been on a tear on the mound lately. Duffy has commendably allowed one-or-fewer runs in 5 of his last 7 starts and two-or-fewer runs in 9 of his last 11 starters, going 6 or more innings in each of these 11 starts. This superb performance has seen Duffy’s ERA improve to a 2.66 mark on the season, which is second in the AL to Detroit’s rookie of the year candidate Michael Fulmer. With the non-waiver trade deadline in the rear, it’s hard to see the Royals make any solid moves akin to the acquisitions of Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto last July, which ultimately helped to engineer their run for the 2015 World Series title. But with Duffy and his compatriots improving and the offense also ticking positively, you can expect the Royals to continue surging upwards for the rest of the season. Heck, some want-away players could easily be impressed, leading to a couple of solid upgrades in the team before the end of the season, which will in turn keep KC’s momentum going.

Colorado Rockies (60-65, 69-56-0 ATS)

The Rockies are a young team and much of their 2016 roster has been an experimental unit rather than one that was geared to compete for a spot in the 2016 World Series. But looking at what they’ve achieved so far, you can’t help but marvel and expect bigger things from them in the remaining quarter of the season. For starters, Colorado’s rookie class is unrivaled in the entire MLB in terms of talent, including names such as catcher Tony Wolters, starters Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson, reliever Carlos Estevez and latest addition leftfielder David Dahl, who’s been a sensational star since making his major league debut on July 25 in Baltimore. This freshman class has received much-needed support from roster mainstays like third baseman Nolan Arenado, and top prospects like LHP Jeff Hoffman, a key reason for their fast growth as a unit. The upsides in this team is evidenced by Colorado’s performance last week, when the team gave up 36 total runs in their six games against the Nationals and Cubs, but still managed to finish the week with a 4-2 record, including a series victory over the Cubs that ended Chicago’s streak of no series loss in the second half of the season. With just a bit of some improvement in the pitching side, the Rockies will have some solid sleeper potential for rest of the 2016 campaign and beyond.

Philadelphia Phillies (58-67, 64-61-0 ATS)

The Phillies were not their efficient selves last week, going just 2-4 in their six games. But this is a team that still has the potential to pay bettors quite handsomely in the remaining quarter of the season. I mean, prior to going 2-4 last week, the Phillies had won taken two of three from the Giants, two of three from the Padres, lost two of three to the Dodgers before sweeping the Rockies in a three-game set. More than that, prior to scoring just 19 total runs in their 6 games last week, the Phillies had belted a whopping 74 total runs (6.2 runs per game) in their previous 12 games. So, simply put, this is a team with a lot of potential, especially if the surging offense that is led by Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco continues to light it up. That should indeed translate to great MLB betting possibilities for Philly as we wind down the season.