Los Angeles Angels Are a Good Longshot World Series Bet

We will have baseball in the year 2020. The Players Association and MLB did everything they could to drag this out and clearly hate each other with a vehemence that will come back into play during CBA negotiations in 2021, but for now, we will have baseball. So enough talk about prorated salaries and how baseball isn't a "very profitable" industry. Let's get down to the real stuff-- betting odds!

SuperBook USA released their early World Series odds once the news of a season occurring became official. The defending champion Nationals aren't getting much faith in regards to their chances to repeat, while the Dodgers and Yankees predictably lead the pack after adding to already-strong rosters in free agency over the winter.

The best bang for your buck here, however, must be the Los Angeles Angels at 20-1. A 60-game season means star power matters all the more, hence why the Yankees and Dodgers are favorites. The Angels, though, have the best all-around player in baseball in Mike Trout. They added 2019 World Series hero Anthony Rendon at third; while Rendon will probably regress a bit after a career-best season at the plate last year, he's still good for hitting around .300 with 10 or so home runs. And he definitely has the clutch factor on his side until proven otherwise.

Then there's the Angels' dual-threat DH/pitcher Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani has struggled to stay healthy over a 162-game slate, but that obviously won't be an issue here. He's a dangerous power hitter at the plate and will complement the Rendon/Trout combination very well. His pitching appearances will probably be spread out after he finished rehab for Tommy John surgery in December, but he's a luxury of a contingency plan that no other team has.

None of that is to say the Angels are a lock to make the playoffs, much less win the whole shebang. But for early betting odds, it's a good balance of risk and payoff.