NL Central Odds Update: Cubs Gaining On Brewers, Reds

The NL Central has been messy in 2023, as the Milwaukee Brewers are favored to win the division. Still, the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs remain in the picture.

We’ll dive into each team in the division ranked where FanDuel Sportsbook has them on the odds board. 

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The Milwaukee Brewers continue to lead the NL Central on August 4, but they’ve got company in the ranks from the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. Despite leading the pack, the Brewers don’t have a positive run differential at -2. They’ve struggled to find their form offensively, even amidst a nice bounce-back campaign from Christian Yelich. As things have continue to tighten up in the NL Central, the Brewers’ odds of winning the division have dropped over the last week from -190 to +110. 

The Reds went into the regular season projected to struggle. That hasn’t happened, and their young talent has reignited the club. Even when pundits continue to count out the Reds, they’ve remained right there with the Brewers and Cubs in the race for the NL Central. Cincinnati sits just a half-game behind Milwaukee for the division lead, even after dropping their series with the Cubs. Following a troubling series against the Cubs, the Reds have still managed to see their odds of winning the division rise from +250 to +200. 

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The Chicago Cubs‘ regular season has had some ups and downs, but there’s no doubt, with how they’ve been playing over the last three weeks, that they’re on a positive stretch. Amidst an 8-2 run, the Cubs have cut their deficit in the National League playoff hunt to 2.5 games in the NL Central and two games in the wild-card chase. With their hot play, the Cubs have seen their odds to win the NL Central bet down from +650 to +240. 

The St. Louis Cardinals entered the year as the favorites to win the NL Central. They’ve looked anything but like contenders, though, and were sellers at the MLB trade deadline. The Cardinals find themselves in the basement of the NL Central with a disappointing 48-62 record. St. Louis trails the first-place Brewers by eleven games and has continued to see their odds to win the division drop, this week from +3000 to +11000. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates got off to a shockingly good start, leading the NL Central for a significant portion of the first two months. They’ve since returned to earth and are playing more like the team we expected. Pittsburgh has dropped to 48-60 on the campaign, which is on par with what many predicted the season would look like for them. With their struggles in June and July, the Pirates have played themselves out of the division race, where they sit with +25000 odds. 

NL Central Odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.