The 2025 MLB season is technically underway, but the opening day is scheduled for Thursday, March 27th.
This will give punters a few more days to put a finishing touch on their futures portfolio for future campaigns.
I highlighted the long shots to consider before the summer boy comes back.
Pittsburgh Pirates win the National League (70/1, Fan Duell)
Start this with a bang. Before we turn the page over and call it crazy, there's the pirate path in 2025.
The most important thing to note for this punt – and remember that this is a 70/1 long shot – that NL Central has won the grab. The Chicago Cubs are odds-on favorites to get the top of the set at -110, but Cubby is far from the Giants.
If the Cubs struggle to meet their modest expectations, the division is blown away.
Milwaukee brewers remain in the Down year and don't expect much from the Cincinnati Reds or the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pirates may be enough to put this division to the top. This is a big step towards giving some legs to this bet.
The Pittsburgh lineup may not be scared of anyone, but the Bookos has a new star to appear in the interesting long shot to win the MVP at 150/1. He has received some support in the form of Brian Reynolds, Kebrian Hayes and Nick Gonzalez.
It's not a lineup full of popular names, but Buccos doesn't need to lead MLB in points to succeed.
Pittsburgh is set to win games on pitching. In other words, attacks are not asked to take on the load.
It depends on Paul Skens and the deep starting rotation that boosts him.
And while all baseball fans know how good Suken is, he's not a Steel City one-man band. Mitch Keller is a solid agent, with plenty of high ceiling arms behind the two top dogs.
Trying to defeat the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies and Braves may seem like a fool's errand, but the Pirates have the luxury of playing in a division where none of them is distinctive.
It gives Bucco enough benefits to make this a fun long shot to ride, along with the talented arms of this pitching staff.
Kodai Senga wins NL Cy Young (50/1, Fanduel)
At this point last year, Kodai Senga was sitting on 15/1 to beat National League CY Young.
The Japanese right-hander was away from his fantastic debut tante season, where he saw Cy Young and Rookie of the Year vote to finish seventh.
Unfortunately, Senga's sophomore season went off track before moving on due to a shoulder injury.
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Senga was able to return to Game 1 of the NLDS in 2024, but three Mets postseason appearances were ineffective.
The injury and the October struggle will have a gambling market overlooking Senga in 2025.
Not only is Senga fit perfectly, he's also in an encouragemental spring and needs to keep the headline of the starting rotation for one of the best teams in MLB.
Fangraphs project Senga in 2025's 3.65 and 2.4 wars in 160 innings, but those numbers could be curtailed due to the 32-year-old injury in 2024.
The ceiling is high, the team is good, and the pedigree is reliable. That's enough to put me on a 50-1 punt.
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Michael Lubov is a patient and abundant islander fan, but is a long-time for-profit sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters acquire a pool of brackets, find long shots, and learn how to win the market in mainstream and niche sports.
