Today’s Best Bets: The East

Lot to do today: MLB futures, double NHL futures, double NBA futures, and the MLB moneyline markets. (For the MLB futures, we’re planning on catching up by just doing batches on Saturday and Sunday this week rather than tripling up.)


Miami at Toronto

The Blue Jays are going for a series win. Kevin Gausman’s throwing well. Eury Pérez has given up some bombs. Don’t fear the getaway day.

Pick: Toronto to win –147. 8.64 units to win 5.88.


NL West

It’s a good price for a team who on paper should be better than the Padres.

Pick: Arizona to win +4000. 2.00 units to win 80.00.

World Series

This is a good price too, though not as dramatically. Part of the objective here is to keep the Yankees a profitable outcome for us. They were a break-even World Series scenario entering today.

Pick: New York (AL) to win +550. 2.00 units to win 11.00.


Western Conference

It’s pricey, but the price should probably be higher. And we say that, again, as bettors who are pretty high on the Knicks’ chances in June.

Pick: Oklahoma City to win –350. 4.00 units to win 1.14.


Stanley Cup

The value’s better on Montreal, but this helps us with the leverage if the Hurricanes do win the East. With this placed, our futures portfolio as currently constructed goes:

  • Canadiens over Knights: +64.04 units
  • Hurricanes over Knights: +44.91 units
  • Knights over Canadiens: –35.96 units
  • Knights over Hurricanes: –67.74 units

We like that setup, but it’s not currently hedge-able, and while we prefer not to hedge, it’s nice to have the option.

Pick: Carolina to win +100. 4.00 units to win 4.00.

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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: –672.98 units (started with 1,000-unit bankroll)

2025–26: –7% average ROI (weighted by unit; sample size: 1,161 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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The Barking Crow's resident numbers man. NIT Bracketology, college football forecasting, and things of that nature. Fields inquiries on Twitter: @joestunardi.
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