Dodgers, Padres will battle it out for NL West: Picks & Bets

NL West odds from PointsBet 

• Los Angeles Dodgers (-304)
• San Diego Padres (+195)
• San Francisco Giants (+5000) 
• Arizona Diamondbacks (+6000)
• Colorado Rockies (+10000)

Prediction

The Dodgers are so good, and get some players back in the fold for 2021. There is really no value taking them, unless you put them in a parlay. You might take a shot with the Padres at +195, but this Los Angeles team could legitimately win 115 games now that it finally can play relaxed after the World Series win. The Dodgers at +350 to win the World Series is a very good play.

How good must it be right now to be a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers?

Betting Preview

You finally got over the hump, winning the 2020 World Series, after the losses in 2017 and 2018 to teams that got caught cheating.

The Dodgers have won three NL Pennants in four years, and eight-straight NL West division titles dating back to 2013. They also have the highest futures win total (104.5) ever, and come into the season with the lowest odds to win any division (-304), the NL Pennant (+175), and the World Series (+350).

But the crazy thing is, the team that might be their biggest threat is just a short drive down the I-5: the San Diego Padres.

San Diego had the second best record in the National League in 2020, and the third best in Major League Baseball, but lost to the Dodgers 3-0 in the NLDS. This looks to be a budding rivalry for the next half decade or longer.

The rest of the division could all struggle to get over .500, and none will be a threat to the two-horse division title race.