The Houston Astros and the New York Yankees are the Las Vegas favorites to top the MLB in wins at the end of the 2019 season.
The New York Yankees aren’t sneaking up on anyone in 2019.
According to Vegasinsider.com, the Westgate SuperBook’s annual MLB win-total predictions pick the Bombers and Houston Astros to lead the majors with 96.5 wins.
Next up are the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, coming in at 93.5 wins each.
This is just the latest in a series of prophetic victories for the Yankees. BetOnline even tabbed them as favorites to win the World Series in 2019, at 6/1 odds.
The analytics world also likes the team from the Bronx. Baseball Prospectus’s sabermetric PECOTA tool has New York topping the AL East with 96 wins.
[membership level="0"] [/membership]There are many reasons for these positive prophecies.
Bombers GM Brian Cashman upgraded his rotation by signing J.A. Happ and acquiring James Paxton.
Cashman then backed up his starters via deals for Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino, crafting possibly the best bullpen in history—on paper, at least.
The lineup remains much the same as it was in 2018, with the ho-hum additions of Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu.
However, a completely healthy Aaron Judge, potential improvement from youngsters Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, and Giancarlo Stanton’s increased comfort in the AL are factors that could provide an offensive boost.
Of course, predictions are fickle phenomena. New York was in a similar position at the beginning of last season, after coming within one win of the 2017 World Series.
PECOTA put them in first in the East; oddsmakers picked them to win a title as late as May.
Yankees fans painfully remember that neither of those projections materialized. Still, there’s no reason not to get excited all over again before the 2019 action begins.
