The Tigers had a nice week of 3 – 1 to start the year. Miguel Cabrera and he offense looked good. The Starting Pitching was given a massive lift with Jordan Zimmermann doling out a Shutout on the Comerica Park opener Friday. In a competitive AL Central, the Motown Boys should still be in contention for a playoff spot all year, and be given respect. Instead, clubs are ahead of them in the AL that shouldn’t be. At +2200 they are a bargain. They are the best bet on the board this week.  Having them ranked tied for 14th right now is not where I would put them at.

Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21

Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports

After the 1st week of action the gamblers have spoken.  The Cubs are solidifying their status as the favorite.  Despite a slow week – the Jays are still tied with the Royals for the favorites in the Junior Circuit.

They finally have pegged KC at the right mark.  In fact, I have no problem with the top 5 odds listed at all.

The first place I have found value is with the Nationals.  They went 3 – 1  in the 1st week. and will throw both Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg 2 times each this week versus the Braves ( 4 game series) and Phillies (3 game series).  I could see this team winning at least 5 games, which would put them at 8 – 3 or better after next Sunday.  Bet them now before their odd jumps to +800.

To begin the year the NL East was rail thin in difference. and with Washington jumping out to a bit better of a start than New York – coupled with the cupcake schedule this week. they are a great value on the board.

Detroit is going to my favorite selection of the week.  They win 3 of 4 games, have solid offense – and yet maintain their same odd from last week, when all of the AL West clubs did not have a winning record except for the A’s, and the AL Central and AL East had the usual culprits only playing okay (in addition to Baltimore).

While I received better value at betting the O’s to win the American League Pennant in my preseason picks (At +2800, which is now what they are listed at for the World Series following their 5 – 0 start.)  Listen I am happy I made those picks, and the ALCS win was the way to go versus the +5000 bet they had – as I think all AL clubs would be underdogs in the Fall Classic against the top 5 favorites.

If you feel that the Nats are going to win the NL East and make a big push in the playoffs the time to bet them is right now before they take off. This week they play 4 games versus the Braves and 3 games against Philly. We could be sitting here next week with a teams that is 3 or 4 games up in the Division. That +1100 odd will drop to about +850

Baltimore did have the luxury of playing 5 home games against a bad Twins club. and the Rays are not all everyone had said either.  Lets see how they do on the road against the Red Sox and Rangers this week.  I am not putting them on the bad odd board either, as I believe they can hold their own all year on the fringe of a playoff spot.

I am also loving the new odd for the Cards/Bucs/and Astros on this list.

Houston is 2 – 4, however the A’s are leading the struggling division – and the ‘Stros started with 6 games on the road.  Having said this for A.J. Hinch‘s squad hosts the Royals for 4 games and the Tigers for 3, with Dallas Keuchel only throwing in one start  Holding off betting them this week.

The Cards on the other kick off a homestand with the Brewers and Reds.  BET THEM NOW.  They rescued their week by sweeping Atlanta.  With the Cards too, they have shown in the past they only need to make the playoffs via a Wild Card spot to go far anyway.

Pittsburgh does have a couple of games against the Tigers this week, but also end up against the Brewers at the end of the week as well.  A 4 – 2 beginning doesn’t feel as great with dropping 2 of 3 to the reds, right after they swept St. Louis, but this team is solid.

Cincinnati accumulated 5 of 6 wins at Great American Ballpark and they will be put back in their place for their efforts this week by visiting Wrigley Field and Busch Stadium.  Enjoy the winning record while it lasts Reds fans.  To go from +15000 to +4000 is a stretch considering this club should still lose 90+ games.  Nice they swept the Phillies, and won a series versus Pittsburgh. but lets stay in reality.

I am not buying into the A’s 4 – 3 start either.  The offense does not look good.  The rotation and bullpen have made the grade so far.  It is important to see they have also played all of their games at O.co and Safeco thus far, and did lose the series to the White Sox.  Oakland should not be ranked higher than about +5000 where the Rays are.

The Brewers are 3 – 3, and could be .500 all year and finish 10 games out of the postseason.  Not a justifiable move to have them go from +12500 to +7500 based on splitting 6 games at home to start the season.  Lets see their odd next week when they have faced St. Louis for 4 and Pittsburgh for 3 on the road.  Back to the bottom of the heap next week.

The Dodgers are a lot better than I gave them credit for last week.  It must have stung to lose 3 out of 4 to the Giants, after blanking the Padres for the 1st 3 games of the season, but there is a ton of optimism here.  Yasiel Puig looks good, and their rotation lasted one round of starts.  With Arizona not looking that good, they will have plenty of games to get fat on the D’Backs, Padres and Rockies.

The Angels only lose +300 on the board after a 2 – 4 week at home.. Wrong guys…

Odds To Win 2016 World Championship

Blue – Good Value

Red – Bad Value

LAST WEEKS odds in Bracket

Chicago Cubs +550 (+600)

SF Giants  +850 (+900)

Toronto Blue Jays  +1000 (+800)

KC Royals +1000 (+1300)

Boston Red Sox +1100 (+1000)

Washington Nationals +1100 (+1100) (2)

NY Mets +1200 (+1100)

LA Dodgers +1400  (+1300) (5)

NY Yankees + +1400 (+1600) (5)

Houston Astros +1600 (+1300)

St. Louis Cards +1600 (3)_

Pittsburgh Pirates +1600  (+1600) (4)

Texas Rangers +1600 (+1600)

Arizona Diamondbacks  +2500 (+1800) (4)

Detroit Tigers +2200 (+2000) (1)

Cleveland Indians +2200 (+2000)

Seattle Mariners  +2800 (+2500)

LA Angels  +2800  (+2500) (5)

Chicago White Sox +2800 (+3500)

Baltimore Orioles +2800 (+5000)

Oakland A’s +4000 (+7500) (2)

Cincinnati Reds +4000 (+15000) (1)

Miami Marlins +5000 (+5000)

TB Rays +5000 (+5000)

Milwaukee Brewers +7500 (+12500) (3)

Minnesota Twins +8000 (+5000)

SD Padres +9000 (+8000)

Colorado Rockies +9000 (+25000)

Philadelphia Phillies +25000 (+35000)

Atlanta Braves  +40000 (+17500)

Odds courtesy of bet365.com

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their other partners.***

A big thanks goes out to our ‘Chief Writer/Part Owner’ Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.

To Subscribe and listen daily to  ‘Our Lead Personality’  Sully’s 20 Minutes Daily (every day since Oct.24, 2012) Podcast click here.  Guaranteed listening to the Sully Baseball Daily Podcast will be the best time you invest in online!

2016 MLB Team Salaries Links Page here.