The Major League Baseball season is nearing the half-way point of the year, as most teams have played 70-something games so far. The first half of the season has been filled with a few surprise teams that have played better than expected, but it has also been filled with disappointing ball clubs that have failed to meet expectations. The Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers were supposed to be powerhouses in their respective leagues, but they are both currently 10 games under .500.

The St Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox have been pleasant surprises this season and are both two of the best ATS teams in the league. For gamblers looking to make a profit, the Cardinals and Red Sox runline and moneyline are two of the best options available. At this point in the season most teams have fallen into a routine and assumed a specific identity. Sure, the second half of the year might change things, but bettors currently have enough information to make a few educated assumptions on how certain MLB teams will continue to play over the last half of the season.

Now is a perfect time to take a look at a few MLB futures and try and find the wagers with the most value before trends change and the odds are adjusted by the sportsbooks. Here is a quick look at the Worlds Series and Pennant odds at the halfway point of the season. All odds come from Sportsbook.ag.

World Series Odds:

Detroit Tigers: +600
St. Louis Cardinals: +700
Atlanta Braves: +700
Oakland Athletics: +800
Boston Red Sox: +1000
Cincinnati Reds: +1000
San Francisco Giants: +1200
Texas Rangers: +1300
New York Yankees: +1500
Baltimore Orioles: +1500
Arizona Diamondbacks: +1500
Washington Nationals: +2000
Tampa Bay Rays: +2000
Pittsburgh Pirates: +2500
Toronto Blue Jays: +2500
Los Angeles Dodgers: +3000
Kansas City Royals: +3000
Los Angeles Angels: +3000
San Diego Padres: +4000
Philadelphia Phillies: +5000
Colorado Rockies: +5000
Cleveland Indians: +5000
Chicago White Sox: +10000
Seattle Mariners: +10000
Minnesota Twins: +10000
Chicago Cubs: +20000
Milwaukee Brewers: +20000
New York Mets: +30000
Miami Marlins: +100000
Houston Astros: +100000

NL Pennant:

St Louis: +300
Atlanta: +300
Cincinnati: +450
San Francisco: +600
Arizona: +700
Washington: +1000
Pittsburgh: +1200
Los Angeles (Dodgers): +1500
San Diego: +200
Colorado: +2500
Philadelphia: +2500
Chicago (Cubs): +9000
Milwaukee: +9000
New York (Mets): +12500
Miami: +50000

AL Pennant:

Detroit: +250
Oakland: +400
Boston: +500
Texas: +650
New York (Yankees): +700
Baltimore: +700
Tampa Bay: +1000
Toronto: +1200
Los Angeles (Angeles): +1500
Kansas City: +1500
Cleveland: +2500
Chicago (White Sox): +5000
Seattle: +5000
Minnesota: +5000
Houston: +50000

Trying to predict futures in any sports can be a difficult process as a bettor can never know what will happen come playoff time. Some teams might be hot while others might hit a cold streak at the worst possible time. The bottom teams in each of the futures categories above have very little value to wager on. And even though +10000 to +100000 odds are extremely attractive, those teams have very little chance at winning a pennant or the actual World Series itself.

The Tigers and the Braves have the largest division leads at four and six games, respectively, and since so few teams make the baseball playoffs to begin with, winning your division has much more value than in other sports. The wild card race is still a toss up in the America League as there are currently seven teams that are within six games of the lead. In the National League both the Reds and Pirates have a six-game leads over everyone else, and they are showing some value because once a team makes the playoffs anything can happen.

Read more articles by George Monroy