We’re back. We’ll catch up on NBA and NHL futures today, but the MLB futures catchup is going to be an ongoing effort.
Chicago (AL) at Minnesota
Taj Bradley’s last start wasn’t great, but across both his post-IL outings, he’s been good overall. Erick Fedde continues to struggle. We’ll take our chances against the White Sox’ good vibes.
Pick: Minnesota to win –138. 7.81 units to win 5.66.
ALCS
The Orioles are only a game out of playoff position.
Pick: Baltimore to win +2800. 2.00 units to win 56.00.
World Series
The Phillies are the likeliest team in the NL to grab the 4-seed. Relevantly, the Braves currently lead the Dodgers for the 1-seed.
Pick: Philadelphia to win +2200. 2.00 units to win 44.00.
NBA Finals
Our hope here is that the Knicks can win at least one of the two games in San Antonio. Do that, and we should have really good leverage heading into Game 3. We already have good leverage (our portfolio’s effectively a 58.48-unit bet on the Knicks which would pay 196.60), but we’d like better leverage.
Pick: New York to win +170. 6.00 units to win 10.20.
Stanley Cup
Our leverage here is much worse (our portfolio’s now effectively an 81.74-unit bet on the Hurricanes which would pay 58.31). But, we do think this is a good price on the Hurricanes, even if we’re skeptical of the conventional narrative that they’ll take Game 2 because “series go back and forth.” They’ve just been so much better than the Knights all year until the Conference Finals. We’re willing to take some hits on that hill.
Pick: Carolina to win +130. 6.00 units to win 7.80.
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These numbers are for the 2025–26 effort, which is currently scheduled to end at the end of the NBA Finals or Stanley Cup Final (whichever comes second). We’ll track the 2026–27 campaign in more detail when it’s fully underway (it’s partly underway right now with our MLB futures portfolio).
2025–26: –691.35 units (started with 1,000-unit bankroll)
2025–26: –7% average ROI (weighted by unit; sample size: 1,166 single-game markets plus seven completed futures portfolios and two partly completed futures portfolios)
Pre-2025: 0% average ROI (worse when limited to only sports)
Units taken from best odds we can find at major sportsbooks available to most Americans.
These bets are not investment advice. If you’re worried you or someone you know might have a gambling addiction, call 1-800-GAMBLER for free, confidential help.
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