MLB Betting Props: Wins Over/Under Totals Set for the 2018 Season

Using the futures board at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark as a crystal ball, oddsmakers believe less than half of MLB teams will win more games in 2018 than they did in 2017. 

The 2018 MLB win totals project 13 finish with a better record this season, while 17 teams will regress. That is highlighted by the Marlins' swift dip from 77 wins in 2017 to a 2018 future of over/under 64.5 following their winter fire sale.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Giants. San Francisco finished 64-98 last season and was nearly 30 games below .500 on the road. On top of producing the second-fewest runs per game, their typically reliable pitching staff's ERA ballooned to 4.50 compared to 2016's 3.65. So the Giants turned up the heat on the hot stove, making trades for Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria. Oddsmakers set their 2018 win total at 81.5, which would be an improvement of 17.5 games.

As you may expect, the three MLB teams to win 100-plus games last season are projected to regress, but only a little as they all remain elite clubs and among World Series betting favorites. The Indians' AL-record 22-game winning streak last season was the catalyst for their 102 victories. Cleveland's win total futures for 2018 is 94.5.

The 2017 World Series representatives, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, won 104 and 101 games, respectively last year. While the Astros traded away some prospects to acquire Gerrit Cole to bolster their starting rotation, the Dodgers haven't made any significant moves. The two clubs are both looking at MLB-high win total futures of 96.5.

Yu Darvish will get the headlines, but don't sleep on the Cubs inking free agent Tyler Chatwood. The team's No. 5 starter, formally of the Rockies, posted a 3.49 ERA away from Coors Field last season, while opposing hitters hit just .200 off him compared to .302 at elevation. By adding Darvish and Chatwood and boasting one of the best lineups in all of baseball, oddsmakers project a 2.5-win improvement and a 94.5 win total future.

The Yankees round out the top five in win total futures, also at 94.5, sharing the threshold with the Indians and Cubs. The Bronx Bombers won 91 games last season and nearly advanced to the World Series. Now, with the addition of Giancarlo Stanton and his 6.9 wins above replacement, the hope is their starting rotation does just enough so that Murderers' Row 2.0 doesn't have to score five-plus runs per game on a regular basis to win.

For context, the Murderers' Row of the 1927 Yankees averaged 6.3 runs per game in 155 games. The 2018 Yankees would need to score 1,020 runs, or 124 more runs than league-leading Houston did last year, to achieve that feat.

For more odds info, picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes, or check it out at OddsShark.libsyn.com.