The Atlanta Braves started slowly last season, got hot in the second half, beat the unbeatable Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs then topped the Houston Astros 4-2 in the 2021 World Series.
Longtime Brave Freddie Freeman was anointed King of Atlanta and then left the city, taking the money of the hated Dodgers to move back to the West Coast.
The Braves replaced Freeman with slugging Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, after parting with some high-level prospects.
So, can the Braves do it again? Oddsmakers seem to think so, but you won’t be able to place these wagers in Georgia until the state’s state legislature gets its act together. It would have benefitted Georgia sports betting fans to toss a state legislator to be named later into the package for Olson.
Atlanta is +1200 to win the 2022 World Series, tied with the division-rival New York Mets, and behind only the favored Dodgers at +500, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.
Efforts to legalize sports betting this spring failed in early April when the legislative session ended without a bill being taken up. Additional legislation to expand gaming through a statewide referendum also failed.
Updated World Series Odds
| ⭐ Los Angeles Dodgers | +500 |
| ⭐ Toronto Blue Jays | +850 |
| ⭐ Houston Astros | +1000 |
| ⭐ Chicago White Sox | +1100 |
| ⭐ New York Yankees | +1100 |
| ⭐ Atlanta Braves | +1200 |
| ⭐ New York Mets | +1200 |
First, Win the NL East
Based on the odds and largely due to the suspected improvement of the Mets and Phillies, the Braves’ NL East is baseball’s second-toughest division, behind the AL East, where the Blue Jays, Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox all battle.
To win the National League, the Braves are +575 and to win the NL East it’s the Braves +140, Mets +145 and Phillies +400. To make the playoffs, the Braves are -300 Yes and +240 No, so oddsmakers would be surprised if the Braves’ season ends without extra games. Over/Under wins for both the Braves and Mets is 90.5 at -115.
Player Prop Bets
If you love your Braves enough to drive to Tennessee to place some prop bets, Olson is the oddsmakers’ seventh choice to lead the majors in home runs at +2500. Blue Jay Vladimir Guerrero is No. 1 at +300. Guerrero is also No. 1 to lead the majors in RBIs at +600. Olson has a better chance there — he’s +2000. Last season Olson went for 39 HRs and 111 RBIs, career highs. Vlad Jr. went for 48 HRs and 111 RBIs.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies is the Brave most likely to lead the majors in hits at +2000. He had 163 last year with a career high of 189 hits in 2019. Rays SS phenom Wander Franco is the top choice at +500. That’s a lot of bookmaker confidence in the 21-year-old, who hit .288 in his rookie season last year in 70 games.
Albies is +2500 to lead the majors in runs scored and will certainly have to improve on last year’s 103 to do it. Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto is No. 1 there at +800 – he scored 111 runs last year.
