The Chicago Cubs have continued to stay alive in the NL Central and NL wild-card playoff picture, leading to us digging into their Pennant and World Series odds. After an active offseason, expectations were higher for the Cubs entering the regular season, but not many had them hanging around in the playoff picture to this point.
American League Pennant & World Series Picks: Minnesota Twins | Seattle Mariners | Texas Rangers | Toronto Blue Jays | Baltimore Orioles | Tampa Bay Rays
Below, we’ll look into the Cubs’ odds of winning the National League and World Series and whether or not they’re worth backing.
Chicago Cubs NL Pennant Odds +1800Entering action on August 9, the Cubs sit in a tie for the final wild-card position in the National League while also sitting just 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead. Over the last month of action, the Cubs have a 15-11 record, which has them right there as one of the top teams in the league. Not only has the Cubs’ improved play been important, but the Brewers and Cincinnati Reds have also shown plenty of inconsistencies throughout the last month.
There were a lot of question marks entering the year for this Cubs team, and many of them have been answered positively to this point. Offensively, they’ve gotten some great contributions from Cody Bellinger, along with Justin Steele pitching like an NL Cy Young candidate. The National League has the clear top contenders in the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, but otherwise, the Cubs are right in the mix with multiple other franchises. As a result, if the Cubs can qualify and head into the playoffs on a high note, there’s some merit in backing this group to win the NL at +1800.
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National League Pennant & World Series Picks: Atlanta Braves | Los Angeles Dodgers | San Francisco Giants | Philadelphia Phillies | San Diego Padres | Miami Marlins
Chicago Cubs World Series Odds +4800The one thing that will make or break this Cubs team revolves around their starting rotation. We mentioned above what a dynamic season Justin Steele is having, while Marcus Stroman has also put up similar numbers. Stroman is currently on the 15-day IL, and his hip injury will be something to watch down the stretch. If Steele and Stroman are both healthy, Chicago has a dominant top two in their rotation that will be difficult to match up with.
In August, the Cubs’ offense caught fire, and although it’s unreasonable to expect them to keep up this pace, it does demonstrate that they have a high ceiling as a group. In a year where it would be considered a bonus just to qualify for the playoffs, it’s hard to put a ton of stock into the Cubs’ current World Series odds at +4800.
