LAST CHANCE: These Royals Bets Are About to Lose Their Value

If you don’t believe in the Kansas City Royals at this point, are you even a fan? 

The Royals are finally competing again and oddsmakers have taken notice. Kansas City has now moved to -175 odds to make the playoffs, and there’s a good chance that they only keep falling.

If you want to take your shot at cashing in on the Royals’ resurgence this could be your last chance.

And if you’re bullish on some of your team’s stars like Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo, you better hurry before their odds drop as well.

Kansas City is Favored to Make the MLB Playoffs

The Royals have had plus-odds to make the playoffs all season, but you can’t say that anymore!

Kansas City is now favored to make the playoffs for the first time in years, and there’s good reason to believe that won’t change the rest of the way.

The Royals have the unique advantage of playing some of the worst teams in baseball (White Sox and Tigers) a combined 13 more times this season and the rest of the division isn’t that great either.

Though it might be a stretch for them to beat out the Guardians for the AL Central title, the Wild Card picture is pretty bleak. 

Kansas City is in first place in the Wild Card hunt, just ahead of the Orioles and five-plus games up on the Twins, Red Sox, Rays, Rangers and Blue Jays. 

The only teams that should scare you out of that bunch are the Orioles and Rangers, which means they probably only have to beat out one of them the rest of the way.

If the Royals make any acquisitions before the trade deadline, this bet is going to look like a lock.

Ragans, Lugo AL Cy Young Odds are Worth the Gamble

If you want a bet with a more enticing payout, consider taking one of your starting pitchers to win the AL Cy Young award.

Cole Ragans would have been a contender last season if he was a starter all season long, and he certainly has the strikeout potential to vault to the front of the pack this year.

Let’s examine the stats of last year’s AL Cy Young Winner, Gerrit Cole, for a comparison.

Cole finished last season with a 15-4 record, a 2.63 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and 222 strikeouts across 209 innings.

It’s hard to project end-of-season ERA and WHIP, but Ragans is currently on pace for a 12-9 record, a 3.34 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP with 241 strikeouts (!!) across 197 innings.

If he can lower that ERA and WHIP just a tad, he’s absolutely going to be one of the top options.

At 13-to-1 odds, that’s a bet worth taking.

Lugo has a longer shot to win because of his track record, but it’s not unheard of for pitchers of his caliber to win either (like Rick Porcello, Dallas Keuchel and Corey Kluber). 

His stats have been other-wordly so far, with a 7-1 record, a 1.79 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP and 58 strikeouts over 65 ⅓ innings. Though his strikeouts are lacking, his other stats would make him a finalist at the least. 

Considering his odds are 30-to-1, your buy-in wouldn’t have to be much for this bet to pay off in a big way.

This could be a special year for the Royals in more ways than one. Why not try to cash in on the fun? 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.