Royals' 2024 Odds Show KC Can Legitimately Compete
By Joe Summers
We're less than one week away from Opening Day for the 2024 MLB season and Royals fans are buzzing with excitement. Bobby Witt Jr. is fresh off a massive extension while the front office made a series of impressive moves to bolster the pitching staff, giving fans legitimate optimism for the first time in nearly a decade.
After a pitiful 56-win season in 2022, the Royals appear primed to turn things around and take legitimate steps towards contention. The betting market noticed and Kansas City's odds indicate that turnaround is coming.
Could the Royals even make a playoff push this summer? Let's go through the odds in some of the major markets and find out.
World Series Odds
The Royals are +15000 to win the World Series, near the bottom of the market but still better than six teams, including their AL Central foes, the White Sox. While a World Series run sounds far-fetched, this is still considerable progress from where Kansas City's odds began in the last few seasons.
The Dodgers pace the field at +320, though the Braves (+450) and Astros (+700 aren't terribly far behind. Minnesota has the best odds within the AL Central at +2100. The odds imply the Royals only have a 0.66% chance to win the World Series, though that was their odds back in 2015 as well.
American League Pennant Odds
Kansas City has +7000 odds to win the American League Pennant, tied with the Los Angeles Angels for third-worst. The Chicago White Sox are worse at +15000 and the Oakland Athletics are last at +20000.
These implied odds suggest the Royals have a 1.41% chance to win the pennant.
AL Central Odds
The Royals have the fourth-best odds to win the division at +950 with implied odds of 9.52%. It would be their first division title since 2016, and the AL Central overall is considered to likely be the worst division in MLB.
Minnesota has the best odds at -125, Cleveland is second +330, Detroit third at +360 and Chicago bringing up the rear at +5000.
Win Total Odds
Win total markets let you bet specifically on how many games you think the Royals will win. Kansas City's win total is set at 73.5 with -110 odds for both over and under. That means you'd need to bet $11 to win $10 in either direction.
The Royals won 74 games in 2021 but otherwise haven't hit the over on this number since 2017. Nonetheless, I like this roster's chances to take a leap forward.
Royals Player Props
American League MVP
While the Royals aren't expected to compete for a World Series, Bobby Witt Jr. still has the seventh-best odds to win AL MVP at +1800. Those are implied odds of 5.26% for the young superstar.
Juan Soto has the lowest odds at +500, with Aaron Judge (+700), Julio Rodriguez (+1000), Corey Seager (+1100) and Yordan Alvarez (+1100) rounding out the top five.
American League Cy Young
Cole Ragans is a popular pick to emerge as a legitimate Cy Young candidate. He's got the eighth-best odds at +1400, giving the lefty flamethrower implied odds of 6.67%.
Corbin Burnes leads the field with +800 odds, Pablo Lopez and Luis Castillo are tied for second at +850, then Kevin Gausman (+900) and Tarik Skubal (+1000) are close behind.
Bobby Witt Jr. Home Runs
You can wager on props for specific players too, like Bobby Witt Jr.'s home run total. His number is set at 29.5, with -110 odds for both over and under.
Witt Jr. had 30 last season en route to the first season in Royals history with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. That followed up his rookie year with 20 home runs and it's reasonable to expect he'll take another step forward in his third season.
If you want to bet on the Royals, FanDuel Sportsbook has a $200 bonus available for any $5 winning bet! Click here to sign up, deposit at least $10 and bet $5 or more with your first wager and you'll get an extra $200 in bonus bets if you win. The offer expires soon, so click here to sign up for FanDuel now!
More Kansas City Royals News:
feed
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.