Plus, a look at the Masters field with a surprise addition and the NBA playoff picture.
The MLB season begins Thursday with a 12-team playoff field for the first time. There are a few key changes to the structure of the game we know and love and a flurry of offseason roster moves that shook up the odds markets and power rankings.
Get ready for Opening Day, Day 1 of the Masters and the NBA regular-season finale with today’s Winners Club.
Baseball Begins Anew
It looked like Opening Day wasn't going to happen for quite some time. The lockout, spanning December to March, put a damper on the hopes of a 2022 season at all, let alone a full 162-game schedule that was only delayed a few days.
But baseball is back, and so is SI's betting and fantasy coverage of America's past time.
The World Series odds for the top teams at SI Sportsbook are as follows:
Dodgers (+450)
Blue Jays (+800)
Astros (+900)
Yankees (+1100)
Brewers (+1100)
See how those odds overlap or differ from SI’s preseason power rankings. With their All-Star roster and massive payroll, the Dodgers are on top and the Braves, the defending World Series champions, are just behind.
Eric Risberg/AP
Jen Piacenti also broke down the American League and National League pennant and division odds. Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers and Blue Jays are the favorites to win their respective leagues. But how about the individual divisions? There will be an even greater emphasis on racking up wins and winning the division with the introduction of a first-round bye for the top seed in each league.
More MLB reading:
Regular-Season, Playoff and World Series Predictions: How will the expanded postseason shape up? SI's writers picked the playoff teams for each league 1-6 and each hypothetical playoff series up to the World Series.
How to Bet on Baseball: Do you need a refresher before hitting the sportsbook on Opening Day? We've got you covered with all the terms you need to know, from run line to moneyline and everything in between.
Over/Under Win Totals Bets: Where’s the value on the win total market? Get picks and analysis for the Giants, Brewers, Mariners and more.
American League Awards Futures: Reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani (+350) is the favorite to repeat, and his teammate Mike Trout (+375) isn't far behind. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is the Cy Young favorite (+400), and Royals rookie Bobby Witt Jr. is dubbed the ROY favorite (+300). Piacenti searches for the value in each award market.
National League Awards Futures: Nationals star Juan Soto (+275) is the clear favorite to win MVP after finishing runner-up a season ago. Mets pitcher Max Scherzer is the most likely player to come home with the Cy Young (+500), and Pirates first-year player Oneil Cruz is primed for a big first year (+450 to win ROY). Childs helps find the best bet in each field.
‘A Tradition Unlike Any Other’
The Masters begin Thursday morning at Augusta National. There's an increasing buzz about Tiger Woods’ pending return and a seemingly open field with defending champion Hideki Matsuyama’s status unknown.
For the full tee time schedule, click here. And for information on how to watch from Thursday to Sunday on ESPN, CBS and Masters.com, click here.
David J. Phillip/AP
The Morning Read crew laid out their DFS plays by tiers, and one-and-done pool picks in the Gaming Golf podcast. They’re into favorite John Rahm (+1000) not only to win but also as a pricy DFS selection.
Shawn Childs has chalk bets and value plays for this weekend. He also dove into some recent history of Masters winners and their odds to win. Here are a few golfers he likes:
Dustin Johnson (+1500)
Sam Burns (+4000)
Joaquin Niemann (+4500)
Patrick Reed (+5500)
And Bill Enright discusses Woods’ return in the latest installment of “Would you bet that?” The five-time green jacket winner is 50-1 to win in his first appearance since 2020. Michael Rosenberg contends, "just getting to this point is one of Tiger Woods' greatest comebacks.”
Around the NBA
The Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday night. With LeBron James (ankle) watching from the sidelines, L.A. lost 121-110 to the first-place Suns, and the Spurs blew out the Nuggets, 116-97, to close the door on the postseason. The loss brought the Lakers to a putrid 31-48 record. Before the season began, they were +333 to win the title on SI Sportsbook, the second-best odds behind the Nets.
Mark J. Terrill/AP
After Tuesday’s games, all 10 playoff and play-in teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences are locked in. The six playoff spots in the East are secured, and the sixth spot out West remains open. Teams will continue jockeying for position in the top-six and the play-in range until Sunday, when the season wraps up, but the playoff picture is steadily coming together.
More NBA Reading:
Embiid Passes LeBron as Leading Scorer: 76ers star Joel Embiid scored 45 points on Tuesday to move into first place in the scoring title race. His average is now 30.424 ppg.
Where Do Play-In Teams Stand?: Check in with the 6-10 seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference ahead of the NBA’s second annual play-in tournament.
Simmons Ruled out for Rest of Season, Play-In: Ben Simmons, who is dealing with a herniated disk in his back, will not play until the postseason begins, at least. In February, the Nets acquired him in the James Harden trade, and he has yet to play.
In Other News
Men’s College Hoops Top 25: The college basketball offseason only just began after Kansas stormed back to beat North Carolina in the national championship game Monday night. The Jayhawks and Tar Heels are well-positioned in SI's way-too-early rankings, but neither team occupies the top spot.
Saints, Eagles Trade First-Round Picks: New Orleans and Philadelphia pulled off a large picks-only trade this week that allowed the Eagles to move one of their three first-round picks to 2023 and the Saints to move up in this year’s draft.
Rookie QBs and Quarterback Movement: Listen to Conor Orr and Gary Gramling discuss the quarterbacks in the 2022 draft on the MMQB podcast.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading Winners Club. I’ll talk to you again on Friday.