Advertisement

MLB win totals: Who are the biggest overachievers and underachievers so far in 2022?

Nick Bromberg
College football and motorsports writer
·5 min read
89

How comfortable are you feeling about your MLB preseason win total bets? Lots of teams across baseball have records at the All-Star break that are in line with their BetMGM win totals. But there are also a number of teams who are clearly heading toward either the over or the under. If you have an over bet on a team like the Yankees or an under bet on a team like the Angels, don't start counting your money just yet. But you should be very confident your bet will hit.

Here are five teams that are heading toward hitting the over on their preseason win total and five teams that are destined to finish under their number.

Teams streaking toward the over

New York Yankees

  • Preseason win total: 91.5

  • 2022 record: 64-28

The best team in baseball is easily on its way to an over in 2022. The Yankees are the only team with more than 60 wins at the All-Star break and is also the only team in baseball sniffing a .700 winning percentage. New York also has the best run differential in baseball (+199), an MVP candidate in the outfield in Aaron Judge and no starting pitcher with an ERA over 4.00.

The Yankees and Aaron Judge had one of the highest MLB win totals before the season and are still set to easily hit the over. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The Yankees and Aaron Judge had one of the highest MLB win totals before the season and are still set to easily hit the over. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Baltimore Orioles

  • Preseason win total: 62.5

  • 2022 record: 46-46

The Orioles are proof of how tough the AL East is right now. Baltimore finished the first half of the season on a heater and is still in last place despite having a .500 record. If you held an Orioles over ticket, you’re still extremely happy. Baltimore needs to win just 17 more games after the All-Star break to cash that bet. That should be easily doable, even if the Orioles can’t get out of the East cellar.

Seattle Mariners

  • Preseason win total: 84.5

  • 2022 record: 51-42

The hottest team in baseball is still nine games back of the AL West lead. But it’s a fun time to be a Mariners fan. Seattle hasn’t lost since July 1 when it fell 3-1 to Oakland to drop to 37-42 on the season. The Mariners have won 14 straight since that game and are in position to make the playoffs and hit their over total in 2022. Seattle needs to go 34-35 over its final 69 games to hit the over.

New York Mets

  • Preseason win total: 88.5

  • 2022 record: 58-35

Mets fans are probably apprehensive that their team is appearing in this column. But New York needs to win just 31 of its final 69 games to hit the over. That should happen, right? Like the Yankees, the Mets have been powered by a fantastic pitching staff. And unlike the Yankees, the Mets haven’t gotten a lot from their two best pitchers so far. Max Scherzer has thrown just 69 innings while Jacob DeGrom hasn’t thrown an inning yet.

Minnesota Twins

  • Preseason win total: 81.5

  • 2022 record: 50-44

The Twins entered the All-Star break with a two-game lead in the AL Central and needing to go 32-36 over the rest of the season to hit the over. With a schedule that includes a lot of its disappointing Central foes in August and September, that should be a doable achievement.

Teams barreling toward the under

Los Angeles Angels

  • Preseason win total: 84.5

  • 2022 record: 39-53

Los Angeles is more than 20 games outside the division lead and has already made a managerial change this year. The move from Joe Maddon to Phil Nevin hasn’t worked. The Angels were 27-29 with Maddon and are 12-24 under Nevin. The Angels are poised to yet again waste a season with both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the roster. What a disaster.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 18, 2022: Angels Mike Trout and two-way star Shohei Ohtani stand for interviews during All Star Workouts at Dodger Stadium on July 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The Angels are way below .500 despite having both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Cincinnati Reds

  • Preseason win total: 73.5

  • 2022 record: 34-57

The under was in play for the Reds before May began. Cincinnati went 3-18 over the first month of the season and lost four more games before finally winning its fourth game of the season. Cincy is a game out of fourth place in the NL Central thanks to the Cubs’ incompetence, but it’s going to take a miraculous second-half surge to sniff the over.

Chicago White Sox

  • Preseason win total: 92.5

  • 2022 record: 46-46

White Sox manager Tony La Russa has baffled players and fans with a few of his intentional walk decisions this year as he manages one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. The White Sox are .500 despite Dylan Cease’s 150 strikeouts in 104.2 innings and another good season from rock-solid 1B Jose Abreu.

Kansas City Royals

  • Preseason win total: 74.5

  • 2022 record: 36-56

The Royals entered the 2022 season as a team that could flirt with .500 if its young pitching talent took a step forward. The opposite has happened. The Royals can’t pitch, aren’t very good at hitting the ball either and became the laughingstock of baseball over the last week after 10 players couldn’t play in Toronto because they weren’t vaccinated.

Washington Nationals

  • Preseason win total: 70.5

  • 2022 record: 31-63

Washington had the fifth-lowest win total ahead of the season and entered the All-Star break with the fewest wins of any team in baseball. The Nationals boast Juan Soto and not much else on the roster and could be trading Soto in the relatively near future if it doesn’t want to pony up on a big money extension for its star. Trade or no trade, the Nationals need to restock the team.