Baseball season is officially underway and so are bets for the game of baseball. In 2021, the Houston Astros won the American League pennant for the third time in five seasons, but they lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games in the 2021 World Series.
The American League is going to be extremely difficult this season because there are so many talented teams. MLB picks today are being made by analysts for the American League. Who are some of the favorites to win the American League pennant in 2022?
Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays +450
The Houston Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays are currently the co-favorites to win the American League pennant this year. The only reason why Houston is this high up is because it is out of respect for them winning it a lot recently. The Astros may have a down year this year and could potentially be a fade bet.
Yes, they do still have Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Justin Verlander, but losing Carlos Correa to the Minnesota Twins is going to hurt them. Jeremy Pena will take over his spot and he has a very hot spring training, but will he be able to keep it up?
Manager Dusty Baker is one of the best managers in all of baseball and he usually doesn’t miss the playoffs. However, the Seattle Mariners might win the American League West this season and the Houston Astros might be a wild card team instead.
The Toronto Blue Jays being this high up isn’t a surprise at all. They are going to be one of the best teams in all of baseball this season. Toronto has a loaded offense and it all starts with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He is one of the best power hitters in all of baseball. Guerrero Jr. has a great shot to win the American League MVP.
They also traded for third baseman Matt Chapman in the offseason from the Oakland Athletics. Cavan Biggio, Tesocar Hernandez, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are some of the other power bats in this lineup for the Blue Jays.
Toronto’s ace is Alek Manoah. Their manager is Al Montoya. The only risk about betting on the Toronto Blue Jays to win the American League pennant is that they are in a loaded American League East division with the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and the Tampa Bay Rays. Don’t even worry about the Baltimore Orioles in the American League east though because they will be irrelevant once again this season.
Chicago White Sox +500
The Chicago White Sox have the second-best odds to win the American League Pennant. Chicago is probably going to steamroll through the American League Central division for the second consecutive season. The White Sox have the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers, the Minnesota Twins, and the Kansas City Royals all within the same division and all of those baseball teams are still rebuilding this year.
Chicago is loaded with talented players. Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, and Jose Abreu are three of their key players in the lineup. They also have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball and also one of the best bullpens in all of baseball. Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, and Dallas Keuchel will be some of their key starters in the starting rotation this season.
Liam Hendriks will be the clear cut closer after they traded away relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for outfielder A.J. Pollock. Tony La Rusa is the teams’ manager and he will look to have this team thinking championship or bust this season.
New York Yankees +550
The New York Yankees have the third-best odds to win the American League pennant. They have not been to the ALCS in a couple of seasons and New York has not been to the World Series since 2009.
Their manager is Aaron Boone. General manager Brian Cashman poorly constructed this roster. The Yankees only good players seem to be Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole.
