Who's Winning The World Series?

MLB postseason brackets are beginning to shape up, so who are we expecting to come out this postseason gauntlet a champion? Most are raving about the AL Central and surprising depth from the National League, but let's check out the full bracket:

FanDuel's current World Series odds:

Los Angeles Dodgers +350     Chicago Cubs +1600

New York Yankees +700         Cleveland Indians +2400

Tampa Bay Rays +800             Houston Astros +2400

Chicago White Sox +1000      Miami Marlins +3000

Oakland Athletics +1000       Cincinnati Reds +3600

San Diego Padres +1000        Philadelphia Phillies +3600

Minnesota Twins +1300        St. Louis Cardinals +3600

Atlanta Braves +1400            Toronto Blue Jays +3600

Quite a few teams (compared to other seasons) have a real chance to win the World Series at the bottom of the bracket. Injuries have a role in that somewhat as the Yankees have the second-best odds as a five seed. Of course, those poor Minnesota Twins still couldn't manage to avoid a first-round matchup with the Yanks.

Looking ahead for the #1 seed Dodgers, a clash between the rival Padres (who ever thought we would say this) looms round two. Derek Jeter's Marlins put up an amazing fight all season, but there's no way they throw off that matchup between L.A and San Diego. The real threat to the showdown is a Cincinnati Reds upset over the Dodgers. Most of us can't stand the sight of Dodger blue, so maybe that wouldn't be so bad. 

Checking out the entire bracket leaves one team standing as the luckiest when it came to this playoff schedule: The Chicago Cubs. A first round matchup with the Phillies, who have a worse bullpen ERA than any team since the stat was recorded. Pitching has always beaten great hitting and that not only makes Chicago's first round series a breeze, but the next. The Atlanta Braves or the St Louis Cardinals stand in Chicago's way to a Championship Series? Atlanta's potent offense might've been more of a threat, but injuries made them a much weaker team on the mound come October. 

If you're trying to win some real cash and quit your day job, betting on a Chicago Cubs run might be the way.

Sleepers

We obviously already addressed that the Cubs might be dangerous in October, but here's some more teams that have a chance:

Athletics- Oakland's roster structure will be a pain in any playoff series with dominating pitching and a great defense. A season-ending hip injury to platinum glove third baseman Matt Chapman doesn't help, but it looks like they found a bandaid in Jake Lamb. Don't be shocked if this team takes advantage of weaker opponents late into the playoffs.

White Sox- Fans of baseball are high on this team and their hot play of late shows why. Their first round matchup (Indians) have AL Cy Young candidate Shane Bieber, but they're playing awful baseball right now. Can't get too comfortable against top-end pitching, but a struggling offense might give us a bout between the south side and Oakland in the Division Series. 

Tampa- Wouldn't want to call the Rays a sleeper as they come in as the #1 seed, but Vegas thinks they're there because of injuries. They're usually right, but a bullpen full of arms chucking 100-miles-an-hour plays in October can beat anybody. Teams are hellbent on velocity for a reason and Tampa evidently found the goldmine. 

Ratings for the MLB postseason should be up with an expanded bracket, so we can't wait to see who makes this change worth it. Who do YOU think makes a deep run? There's usually an upset in baseball, so where's that coming from this year? Leave your predictions in the comment section!