Early 2022 World Series Sleepers To Consider

Minnesota Twins +8000

Fellow White Sox fans are going to hate me for this one, but it is something to consider at such a large number. I know I know, the Twins always find a way to fail and come up short every single year. These odds pretty much reflect that, as it appears people are done wasting their money betting on a team that can never get it right. I'm not saying you should bet the house here, but hear me out. It is pretty clear to me that, at least so far, the White Sox are living up to their stereotype of being cheap. They have a window to win a World Series right now, yet they aren't spending any money in free agency. That leaves the door open for a team to catch them.

Minnesota fits the bill. They were terrible last year, yes, but they still have a lot of talent on this team. The key part here is that they didn't lose anybody to free agency, so the team will still be intact as they move into next season. They have a good mix of young talent and veteran leadership, but they need to fix the pitching staff, which was their main problem last season.

Looking at the payroll situation, Minnesota has over $40 million to spend before they hit league average in total salary. This isn't the Baltimore Orioles or Pittsburgh Pirates, and I fully expect the Twins to use that money to try and fix what ails them as soon as the lockout ends. This number wont last long if they start signing guys.

Seattle Mariners +3500

The Mariners are a very confusing team. Last season, they somehow eclipsed 90 wins, despite being in the negative run-differential. They have plenty of options on the table, and they aren't usually a team that goes out and spends a ton of money to win. However, something tells me that they will make some waves in free agency this year, and with a payroll that is $45 million under league average, they have plenty of money to throw around to whoever that think gives them the best chance to win.

I wouldn't place a ton of cash down here, obviously. The Mariners haven't won anything in a very long time, but at 35-1 odds they are worth a small bet on the fact that they are coming off of 90 wins. A team with many paths before them, this is a sprinkle on them finally making the leap.

San Francisco Giants +2000

If you aren't feeling the longer odds above, consider the Giants, who shocked everyone last season by actually being good. I continue to look at the projected payroll of all of these teams, and I love what I see from the Giants. Keep in mind, this is one of the premier organizations in baseball, and they are not afraid to spend big money to build a contender in San Francisco. As it stands, they are currently $7 million under the league average payroll. That is far behind other top organizations like the Dodgers and Yankees.

The Giants just had basically their entire roster leave them on expiring contracts, so you should expect them to spend that nearly $100 million that freed up when those players left the team. Granted, they have a lot of work to do. The entire pitching staff is gone, including Kevin Gausman, Alex Wood, Johnny Cueto and Anthony DeSclafani. They also lost Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Kris Bryant.

With all that money freed up, expect the Giants to spend big. The organization wants a winner after last season, and the fans will demand it. After all, these odds are at +2000 with just half a team. What would these odds shorten to if they spend that cash on impact free agents?

Click the button below to get a Day Pass for just $4.99 to find out what edge our model found and unlock the entire slate of best bets!