The 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers starts Friday, October 25 at Dodgers Stadium, and we’ve got a number of futures bets for the series leaders ahead of the action.
Baseball fans couldn’t ask for a better marquee matchup, and Yankees superstars Juan Soto and Aaron Judge headline our top MLB picks for the 2024 World Series.
For more on this must-see World Series, check out Rohit Ponnaiya's favorite Ohtani vs. Judge props.
Juan Soto most home runs in the 2024 World Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers rotation is full of right-handed arms, and as it stands, Anthony Banda is the only lefty in the bullpen with the potential of southpaw Alex Vesia returning from a rib injury.
Either way, with the New York Yankees lined up to face almost exclusively right-handed pitchers, I’m going with Juan Soto to lead the World Series in home runs.
Soto hit 28 homers with an elite .285 ISO against right-handed pitchers during the regular season, and he’s also posted a monster overall 70.4% hard-hit rate with three long flies during the playoffs.
Finally, there’s also a sizable edge in the available numbers with Soto trading as short as +600 at multiple shops. The difference in prices attaches a positive expected value of 29% to the +800 DraftKings odds.
Juan Soto most hits in the 2024 World Series
Continuing with Soto, he’s posted a .333 batting average in the playoffs after going good for a .288 mark during the regular season, which includes a .293 AVG against right-handed hurlers.
Again, with the Dodgers sending righty after righty to the hill, I think there’s an edge targeting Soto in these futures markets because he’ll have the platoon advantage in nearly every plate appearance.
Additionally, he rarely strikes out against righties (18.9% during the regular season), and hitting second in the lineup could give him an extra plate appearance or two on the majority of hitters throughout the series.
Again, this is a prop to shop around for because DraftKings has Soto to record the most hits priced at just +600, so +1,000 bet365 odds carry an enormous positive expected value of 57% in comparison.
Jack Flaherty most strikeouts in 2024 World Series
The Dodgers have announced Jack Flaherty as their Game 1 starter, which sets him up to likely pitch in at least two games. There’s also a big gap in the regular-season strikeout numbers between Flaherty and Yankees Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole, in addition to a huge gap between Flaherty’s postseason and regular-season metrics.16.1
Flaherty | Cole | |
---|---|---|
Postseason innings | 15.1 | 16.1 |
Postseason strikeouts | 8 | 12 |
Regular season K/9 | 10.78 | 9.38 |
Regular Season K% | 29.9% | 25.4% |
Postseason K/9 | 4.7 | 6.61 |
Postseason K% | 11.9% | 16.7% |
I’m anticipating a splash of statistical correction coming in the strikeout department for both Flaherty and Cole during the World Series, but it’s the Dodger righty carrying the higher punchout potential. Admittedly, it might be shortsighted to narrow the race down to just Flaherty and Cole, but they’re also the most likely to pitch the most innings and make two starts and potentially three appearances if the series goes long enough.
Shopping for the best price is even more critical with this prop because there’s a positive expected value of 120% attached to the +650 Caesars odds compared to the far shorter +240 FanDuel and bet365 numbers.
Aaron Judge most RBI in the 2024 World Series
It’s been a predominantly quiet postseason for Yankees superstar Aaron Judge. He’s sporting an unsustainably low .299 wOBA and .167 BABIP with just a pair of home runs and six RBI through nine games.
For comparison, Judge posted an MLB-high 58 round-trippers, 144 RBI, and .476 wOBA during the regular season with a .367 BABIP. Additionally, his postseason 23.1 launch angle, 15.0 barrel percentage, and 65.0% hard-hit rate are solid marks, so I’m anticipating statistical correction coming his way against the Dodgers.
Leadoff-man Gleyber Torres and Soto have been on-base machines in front of Judge, too. Torres sports a .400 on-base percentage during the postseason, and Soto has been even better with a .439 mark.
Simply put, the RBI opportunities will be there for Judge.
Price shopping also pays off with this futures bet. Judge is as short as +260 to lead the series in RBI at BetMGM, so the +450 Caesars odds present a positive expected value of 53%.
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