While the San Francisco Giants are crowned as champs, there will be 29 other teams looking to knock them off the pedestal next season. Here’s a look at the four best 2015 World Series contenders right now:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Odds To Win 2015 World Series: 15/2
This is the team that will feel more pure pressure to make the World Series than any other in baseball. The Dodgers have watched their arch rivals, the San Francisco Giants, win a third World Series title in the past five seasons. The Dodgers have been in the playoffs each of the past two seasons but have not been able to come up with big hits, and Clayton Kershaw – the best pitcher in baseball the past two seasons – has come up short in October. It’s not as though the Dodgers need some huge fixes.
When you get down to it, Kershaw just needs to be as good in October as he’s been the past two regular seasons. Even with his brilliant season, Kershaw was again overshadowed in the post-season by Madison Bumgarner. The Dodgers need their star pitcher to show up in October, and what they also need is some help with middle relief. The seventh and eighth innings were a problem for the Dodgers against the St. Louis Cardinals. If this one thing can be improved, the Dodgers will be in great shape.
2. Los Angeles Angels
Odds To Win 2015 World Series: 10/2
After several seasons of struggle, the Angels finally returned to being the best team in the American League West, something that used to come naturally when they were an annual playoff team. The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics had taken over the A.L. West from 2010 through 2013, while the Angels fell off the map and languished in mediocrity. People were wondering if Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton could step up and help out Mike Trout.
Baseball experts were also wondering if the Angels would address their bullpen and get enough innings from the back end of their starting rotation. The franchise got all those things. Huston Street was brought aboard as the closer and did an excellent job. Pujols figured out American League pitching. Hamilton was solid for most of the season, but he did crumble in September and in the playoffs against the Kansas City Royals. Trout once again starred for the team, but he was shut down by the Royals in the American League Division Series. The Angels will need Trout to be good in October, but making the playoffs should not be a problem.
3. Baltimore Orioles
Odds To Win 2015 World Series: 20/1
The Orioles made the playoffs in 2012 but not in 2013. They made the playoffs in 2014, so can they repeat in 2015? The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox could be better in 2015, but they have so many questions with their starting rotations. The Orioles have fewer questions, and the back end of their bullpen is solid, unlike a number of other teams in the American League. Buck Showalter is an excellent manager – expect the Orioles, who had several key players injured last season, to be back in the American League Championship Series.
4. St. Louis Cardinals
Odds To Win 2015 World Series: 12/1
This is the team that’s there every year. They have high-quality starting pitching, a balanced lineup, and a decent bullpen. There’s no one huge weakness, only a few modest ones. The Cardinals are consistent and know how to guide themselves to the playoffs, no matter what else crops up in the National League Central.
