Yesterday, we covered the major risers among MLB futures contenders. Today, let's review which teams have taken the biggest tumble over the last month or so.
FALLERS
Los Angeles Dodgers (+1800 Sportsbook odds)
All hope is not lost for the Dodgers, as a May surge put them back into the American League West playoff rest. But they've frustrated sports betting blog pick makers by stumbling badly in recent weeks. Chad Billingsley's injury stung and Andre Ethier is taking a long time to recover from his own despite being back in the lineup. But the Dodgers still have the talent to challenge for the World Series when healthy.
Philadelphia Phillies (+850 Sportsbook odds)
Here's a team that savvy MLB betting players will pounce on. The Phillies have been maddening all season, wasting a phenomenal effort from Roy Halladay (who must feel like he's still in Toronto) by struggling to hit the ball. Still, sluggers like Ryan Howard always save their best for the warm weather. The Phillies should eventually rally in a big way – unless Chase Utley's hand injury proves serious.
Tampa Bay Rays (+650 Sportsbook odds)
If they aren't officially fallers yet – they actually have the second best World Series odds at the moment – they're primed for a fall. They've slipped all the way to third in the ridiculously tough American League East and frustration is mounting in the clubhouse, as we saw when Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton almost came to blows last Sunday. The Rays still have the talent to contend but this is a young team that is still prone to losing confidence at times.
Toronto Blue Jays (+10000 Sportsbook odds)
Hopefully you didn't buy into the hype and throw down a large sum on the Blue Jays a month ago. Their demise was actually quite easy to predict. For one, they do this every single year, flying out of the gate in April and slowly sliding until they're a .500 team by the All-Star break. Secondly, despite leading the majors in homers and slugging for much of the season, the Jays have consistently ranked at the bottom in on-base percentage. In other words, they had poor plate discipline all along. Now opponents are capitalizing on that by giving them fewer pitches to hit.
Washington Nationals (+10000 Sportsbook odds)
It's decent betting advice to pick the Nats when Stephen Strasburg pitches, as he has plenty of wins in his future, but Strasburg Mania has distracted from the fact that Washington is in a freefall. Fast starters like Livan Hernandez are crashing back to Earth and it doesn't help that the Nationals share a division with the Braves and Mets – two of baseball's hottest teams.
