World Series preview: Why the Milwaukee Brewers are the team to beat against the Tampa Bay Rays
William Contreras at +650 leads the World Series MVP picks as the Milwaukee Brewers face the Tampa Bay Rays with series odds favoring Milwaukee.
We are just a couple of days away from the World Series starting. There are some great games ahead of us, and baseball has delivered some really enjoyable games this postseason. With the series beginning in a few days, it is worth taking a look at some of the futures markets and who we should wager on for MVP and the overall series.
It is really hard to bet against the Brewers. I'll be honest, I'm not a Brewers fan. Most of it is because I am a Cubs fan, and I have found the Brewers to be a bit insufferable without winning anything, so if they do win, it might just get worse. Personal issues aside, the Brewers are the best team in baseball, have been the best team in baseball, and have looked absolutely elite in the postseason. Can they be stopped?
The Tampa Bay Rays will look to do just that. It doesn't look good for them, though. They had the second-lowest OPS against 98 mph or faster pitches in baseball this season. They have struck out 66 times in the postseason, but that's actually five fewer in one less game than the Brewers. Still, the Rays will need to figure out a way to make contact against an elite pitching staff. Outside of Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers bullpen can fire pitches in there.
I think the Brewers probably do win the World Series. At -165, the price is a bit higher than worth it at the moment, and the value is on the Rays. Tampa does have a very good team. Brewers winning 4-2 is probably my favorite look at +360.
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The edge in the starting rotation probably does go to the Rays. Drew Rasmussen is a finesse pitcher, but he has been elite. Freddy Peralta used to pitch for Milwaukee, so I'm interested to see how he performs. Nick Martinez has been strong for them as well. They have a good bullpen, too. The Rays have a shot to win this game, but if they do, it will probably be because Rasmussen wins two games and likely is involved in a third at +2000.
For the Brewers, there are a number of guys who could've been selected for the NLCS MVP, but it went to Jake Bauers. It really wouldn't surprise me to see him get it in the World Series as well. William Contreras at +650 is my favorite look. He has had numerous big hits, and if he can call great games for the club, he could get a bit of an edge. Contreras had a good series the one time the teams played this season. The Brewers have so many good players it is hard to pick just one guy who will get the credit.
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I think betting on Contreras to get the most hits in the series at +850 is also a look. Most of it is the same logic as the MVP. I don't like anyone on the Rays to get this because the speed of the pitching might be hard for them to catch up to.
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