The Toronto Blue Jays have had a busy offseason, bringing in pitching and hitting talent to improve a roster that narrowly missed the playoffs last season. According to Ontario sportsbook apps they have done just that as they are +900 to win the 2022 World Series, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers (+475) and are also favored to win the American League East at odds of +170.
Team success isn’t the only route for bettors to make money on the Blue Jays this year as many of their stars are also in the mix for individual awards this year. Ontario sports betting has only been available through PROLINE+ but on April 4, right in time for baseball season, the market will open up to many other online sportsbooks.
Odds to Win Home Run Title
| ⭐ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays | +700 |
| ⭐ Pete Alonso, Mets | +1000 |
| ⭐ Aaron Judge, Yankees | +1200 |
| ⭐ Shohei Ohtani, Angels | +1400 |
| ⭐ Mike Trout, Angels | +1400 |
| ⭐ Matt Olson, Braves | +1400 |
| ⭐ Joey Gallo, Yankees | +1400 |
*Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook Ontario
Back The Blue Jays Offense
The Toronto offense was one of the best in the majors last season and it appears that this season will be no different. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the way for this team after hitting a league-leading 48 home runs and driving in 111 runs last year. Offensively, he should continue to improve and the odds reflect this as he is the current favorite to lead MLB in homers again at +700.
Pete Alonso and Aaron Judge are close to him on the odds board, and teammates George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez are listed, but those two have to be considered long shots at +3500 and +5000 respectively. Guerrero is also second on the odds board to lead the league in hits, a spot he shares with fellow franchise cornerstone Bo Bichette. Both come in at +1100, trailing only Tim Anderson, who checks in at odds of +1000.
Guerrero, Bichette and Springer are all also contenders for American League MVP, but the competition will be stiff. Shohei Ohtani, last season’s MVP, leads the way at +400 odds, followed by Angels teammate Mike Trout and Guerrero, who finished second last year, at +450. Ohtani had a historic season last year, excelling both as a hitter and a pitcher en route to winning the award unanimously. His rare ability to play both positions gives him an unprecedented advantage and led him to a staggering 9.1 WAR (wins above replacement) number last year.
While offensively dominant, Guerrero doesn’t provide as much value defensively as many MVP candidates do, putting him at a disadvantage. His 6.8 WAR in 2021 was almost solely based on his offensive production. With this in mind, backing him to lead the league in counting stats such as hits or home runs seems to be the route that will lead to the most profit for bettors.
At +2200, Bichette would give bettors a much bigger return on their bets and Springer can be considered a bonafide longshot at +5000; those odds could attract interest in wagering on the Blue Jays. Springer was seventh in MVP voting in 2019, his last fully healthy season.
AL Cy Young Odds
| ⭐ Gerrit Cole, Yankees | +425 |
| ⭐ Shane Bieber, Guardians | +700 |
| ⭐ Robbie Ray, Mariners | +900 |
| ⭐ Lucan Giolito, White Sox | +1100 |
| ⭐ Lance McCullers Jr., Astros | +1400 |
| ⭐ Dylan Cease, White Sox | +1400 |
| ⭐ Shane McClanahan, Rays | +1600 |
| ⭐ Justin Verlander, Astros | +1600 |
| ⭐ Chris Sale, Red Sox | +1600 |
| ⭐ Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays | +1800 |
| ⭐ Frankie Montas, A’s | +1800 |
| ⭐ Jose Berrios, Blue Jays | +2000 |
*Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook Ontario
Cy Young Race Wide Open
Toronto had the AL Cy Young winner last year, with the since-departed Robbie Ray winning the award. With him now on the Seattle Mariners, Toronto betting fans will look to new addition Kevin Gausman (+1800), Jose Berrios (+2000), Yusei Kikuchi (+4000) and Hyu Jin Ryu (+5000) to win the award.
Gerrit Cole of the Yankees leads the way at +425 but the award race appears to be wide open with 14 players currently +2000 or less. Gausman was sixth in NL Cy Young voting last year and will look to build upon that strong season with Toronto, but at +2000 Berrios is the better bet here. At age 27, he can be expected to improve his excellent numbers from last year; Gausman is over 30 and coming off of a career season.
Hyu Jin Ryu has the best track record as he has a second- and third-place finish in the past three seasons, but last year his numbers took a big dive and it sems a tad unrealistic that he’d improve enough to get back into the Cy Young race at age 35.
Look to Berrios to lead this staff this year and end the season as the Jays’ best hope for the Cy Young.
Will It Lead To Team Success?
Individual awards are nice, but the goal for all of these players is the success of the team as a whole. With so many players in the conversation for these honors, and with the team a serious odds favorite to win it all, the Blue Jays have the horses to compete for the division title all year and should be a World Series contender come fall.
