If you haven’t entered the 2022 MLB futures market yet, it’s time to start thinking about doing so. Major League Baseball is nearing the halfway pole of the regular season, which means the best online betting sites for MLB are pumping the market full of big-picture odds. Our focus today is the 2022 MLB futures and odds to win the AL Central Division. The Minnesota Twins are currently the favorite, but are they actually?
Before we provide the answer, here are the latest betting odds to win the AL Central Division in 2022, courtesy of the fine folks over at Bovada:
| Division Winner |  |
|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | +105 |
| Chicago White Sox | +185 |
| Cleveland Guardians | +310 |
| Detroit Tigers | +40000 |
| Kansas City Royals | +75000 |
As you can see, the Twins are not leading the Chicago White Sox by a whole lot. Many maintain the Cleveland Guardians still have a chance, and that Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals are the only squads actually beyond contention.
At any rate, you will want to double-check these MLB betting lines prior to settling on any picks. All 2022 MLB futures are subject to shift right up until the end of the season, and our baseball betting odds are accurate entering games on Wednesday, June 29.
With so much time before division champions are crowned, we highly recommend browsing through our reviews of the top gambling spots. We have everything from the best World Series betting sites to the overall best sites for online betting in the United States.
It says a lot about how good the Twins were earlier this season that they’re still holding down the top spot. Injuries have sent both their pitching rotation and batting lineup down a rabbit hole of losses. Minnesota does not, it seems, have the depth necessary to navigate longer-term absences from multiple key stakeholders.
Opposing bats are feasting on the Twins during this latest stretch. Minnesota is 23rd in ERA since the middle of May as a result.
Still, they are not without upside. Some of their best arms will soon be coming back, and at least part of their slippage in the standings and at the sportsbooks is owed to an unsustainably hot streak from the Guardians that has already started to subside.
If you want to get technical, the White Sox were already favored over the Twins once upon a time. Chicago entered the season as the betting favorite to win the AL Central, only to crumble beneath an onrush of injuries and general underachieving.
And yet, the White Sox refuse to go away. Just when it looked like they were done and that the AL Central was a race between the Guardians and Twins, they perked back up.
Only four teams have tallied more total runs over the past month, during which time Chicago has re-established themselves as an offensive dynamo at various spots in the batting order. Jake Burger and Andrew Vaughn are most responsible, but plenty of others have pitched in. And if the White Sox are even 80 percent this good the rest of the way, they’ll have a real shot of erasing the six-game gap separating them from the AL Central Division title.
Oddsmakers aren’t vibing the Guardians as hard as the White Sox for some reason—even though it’s Cleveland who sits in second place, directly behind Minnesota, in the standings by three full games. The Guardians are also working off one of baseball’s hottest stretches of the year.
The most recent dip probably has something to do with their current slump. They have dropped four of their last six games, including some matchups against what was at the time a heavily slumping Minnesota squad.
Both Andres Giminez and Jose Ramirez continue shine bright on the more glamorous end of the plate, but they’re going to need better consistency from the rest of Cleveland’s supporting bats if this team is going to fend off both the Twins and White Sox.
Going with the Twins is a risk here.
We’re doing it anywhere.
Minnesota has the highest ceiling of any team in the AL Central Division at full strength. And while they’re not at that point now, they will inch closer as the weeks go by.
In particular, the Twins’ pitching really has us old. Opponents are still hitting just .236 against their starting and bullpen arms despite all the injuries. If Minnesota gets its full stable of pitchers back—or something resembling it—on the back end of the All-Star break, they could actually wind up running away with this thing, much to the chagrin of Chicago and Cleveland.
SBS Prediction: Minnesota Twins (+105)
Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one to use for all of your 2022 MLB betting:
About the Author
Dan is a versatile sports betting writer who can address a wide range of topics, from presidential elections to changes in federal and state sports betting legislation. He is also an NFL expert and regularly provides insightful picks and analysis for the league. With his extensive knowledge and experience, Dan is well-equipped to tackle any subject related to sports betting and keep his readers informed and up-to-date.
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