AL Central Odds Update: Twins Lead, Guardians Hanging Around

The Minnesota Twins are leading MLB‘s weakest division, the tight AL Central, but multiple teams are on their heels.

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The Minnesota Twins are leading the AL Central with a record of 38-38 but haven’t inspired confidence in what they offer at the top of the mountain. Minnesota remains the only team in the AL Central with a positive run differential at +28, but it’s still hard to grasp how they’re juiced to the point that they are. With the Cleveland Guardians closing the gap over the last week, the Twins have seen their odds of winning the AL Central drop from -360 to -230. Even with Minnesota leading the way, there’s no value in backing their current price with the uncertainty inside the division. 

After winning the AL Central in 2022, the Cleveland Guardians are back in the mix in 2023. The Guardians’ pitching has been fine but will need to be better moving forward, considering how much the team struggles to find offense. Over the last month, Cleveland has been getting much more consistency from their pitching staff, and that’s a big reason they only trail Minnesota by one game in the AL Central. The Guardians’ 36-38 record isn’t strong on paper, but they were a second-half team last year, and we expect the same this time. We like the price they listed after getting bet down from +380 to +240. 

It’s hard to find a more disappointing story than the Chicago White Sox’s past two seasons. There are many talented position players on this roster and some high-end starters in their rotation. It’s hard to believe that the White Sox are struggling to the extent they are. The ChiSox have won just three of their last ten games, which has resulted in them sitting six games back of the Twins. Even with Chicago sitting 12 games below .500, they’ve still seen their odds to win the AL Central rise from +1300 to +1100 over the last week. 

The Detroit Tigers started the year with some consistency but largely came back down to earth in May. Some strong youth pieces on their roster helped lead them to a 6-4 record over their last ten games. It’s not as though the Tigers aren’t still considered a longshot, but they only sit 4.5 games back of the division lead. As a result, Detroit has seen their odds to win the AL Central rise from +5000 to +3500. 

The Kansas City Royals continue their rebuild, and it’ll be multiple seasons before they can compete for the division again. With the Royals struggling, there’s no reason to discuss their odds further. After losing seven of their last ten games, they sit at +25000 with a dismal 21-54 record. 

AL Central Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.