Best bets to win each AL division: Can Blue Jays justify front-runner status?

The MLB season starts Thursday, and we're breaking down every relevant futures market ahead of Opening Day. After running through every NL division on Monday, here are the odds to win each AL division and our best bets for each.

AL East

The Blue Jays are built to contend in 2022, so grabbing them at plus-money to win this division feels good on paper. Toronto was one of the five best teams in MLB per advanced metrics a year ago and reloaded in the offseason, adding steady ace Kevin Gausman and elite defensive third baseman Matt Chapman to a group that already looked ripe for internal improvement.

Practically speaking, it's risky to bet any team at +150 odds in arguably the best - and most volatile - division in baseball. But the odds on the remaining four teams simply aren't attractive enough. If you can grab the Rays at closer to +350, where they're dealing at some shops, there's enough pitching upside to make it worthwhile. But at these prices, I'm grabbing Blue Jays stock.

Best bet: Blue Jays +150

AL Central

There are two key reasons the White Sox enter 2022 as the second-biggest favorites in all of baseball to win their division: Their roster is stacked from top to bottom, and the remaining rosters are not.

Four of the five teams in the AL Central are projected to win between 75 and 82 games. The outlier is Chicago, which won 93 games in 2021 despite injuries to nearly all of its best hitters - all of whom should be ready to go for 2022. The team's top three starting pitchers are among the best trios in MLB, and its bullpen could make the case as the fiercest in the AL, even after trading away Craig Kimbrel for outfielder AJ Pollock.

The Twins and Tigers made big splashes in free agency, but both rotations still have serious question marks, and adding one or two dynamite sluggers doesn't fix either lineup's depth issues. It's a steep price, but the White Sox are the only team worth paying for in this division.

Best bet: White Sox -225

AL West

Can we fade this division into oblivion? The Astros are laying a hefty price despite losing Carlos Correa and doing very little to address an injury-riddled pitching staff. The Angels are perennially overpriced and still have major questions outside of their star trio, and the Mariners' hype train conveniently ignores the borderline MLB-level talent rounding out their roster.

Can the Rangers really make a push after their offseason spending spree? Their lineup - much like the Angels' - is dependent on two key cogs, in this case Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, but you aren't paying a +380 premium for it. And Texas' rotation has enough high-upside arms and prospects in the pipeline to make a ceiling of 85-90 wins seem possible. Will it happen? Probably not, but at 18-1 odds, I'll gladly take a shot.

Best bet: Rangers +1800

C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at [email protected].