At about this time of the season, bettors interested in 2024 MLB betting should be looking at the standings and asking themselves some questions. Firstly, you want to look at who is off to the hot start. Secondly, you want to see if there are any underdogs who are off to a hot start. For this second question, the relevance is that you might be able to sniff out a long shot in Major League Baseball antepost markets. It seems that in almost every season, there are one or two teams whom the pundits get wrong with their preseason analysis. Here's a look at the MLB longshots who have started the 2024 Major League Baseball season surprisingly well.
Detroit Tigers: 40 to 1 to Win 2024 World Series
The Detroit Tigers are 4-0 to start the season. They have had some postponed games in their schedule. So far, the team has posted two shutouts and has only given up more than two runs in any particular game on one occasion. They have also started the season on the road, meaning they are 4-0 despite not playing a home game yet. That will help them out when writers start offering their power rankings.
Not much is expected of Detroit this season. They can be taken at +4000 to win the World Series at this point. A better bet would be to take them to win the 2024 ALCS at +2000 (all odds bet365). There is an each-way option on the antepost market to win the ALCS at 1-2, 1/2. If you take that option, you can get half odds on Detroit if they simply make the ALCS. That's equivalent to +1000 on them to win a Divisional Series this season.
In the AL Central, Detroit is a disappointing +250. The division is thought to be loaded with moderately above-average teams with Cleveland and Minnesota the favorites.
LA Angels: 80 to 1 to win the 2024 World Series
The Los Angeles Angels are 80 to 1 to win the 2024 World Series. It's only natural that bettors should be skeptical of them. Even last season when they had Shohei Ohtani, the Angels were a disappointing ball club.
But so far, they are 4-2 out of the gates despite only playing road games. That is not a bad start to the season and maybe bettors should have some optimism with this team.
They are a team that can be taken in the pennant race. The Angels are out at +2800 to win the AL West, odds that could prove to be long.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 2024 MLB betting
In the National League, the Pittsburgh Pirates are +2800 to win the NLCS. They are off to a hot start with a 5-1 record out of the starting gates. This is something we saw out of Pittsburgh last season. The team did start well in the early going in 2023 but they were not able to keep the momentum up.
Pittsburgh at +2800 to win the NLCS is worth taking at 1-2, 1/2. Bettors can hope that they learned something from last season and will improve this season. They have also started the season on the road so their 5-1 record is a little more impressive.
Betting Antepost: MLB Tips
When you are betting long shots in Major League Baseball antepost, you aren't putting a bet and then simply being done with the market. MLB teams have all kinds of dips and dives for momentum in the six-month season that features 162 games per game.
What you can hope to do is pick up several teams throughout the season at really long odds. If you make intelligent picks, then you might have more than just a few teams in the playoffs at long odds. But even if you're picks aren't good, when you are working with odds like 28 to 1, 40 to 1, and 80 to 1, you don't have to bet too hard to make things interesting. As always, that means your losing bets are small and easier to get over.
Another benefit of antepost is that it can involve you in a team's games -- even when you don't take the moneyline for that team in that particular game. The bets are big-picture bets in nature but give you something to follow in the many small pictures (ie. individual games).
