Who Will Win the National League West After 1 Month of Games

The NL West was one of the biggest storylines throughout the course of the 2021 season and looks to be a deep race so far this season. The Giants won the NL West last season, the Dodgers are a juggernaut that keeps adding to the team, and the Padres are looking to improve with Bob Melvin at the helm and having some solid players leading the way. Today, we will dive into which teams we should be betting on here to win the NL West. 

The Preakness Stakes are coming up later this month and it is time to get into some horse racing to make some extra cash. Make sure to read up on that to make sure we are going to be winning some serious money. All odds for the NL West are based off consensus odds so the odds can differ depending on where you place your bets. 

Los Angeles Dodgers (-250)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are far and away the favorites in the NL West as they are currently 16-7 to lead the division and has played the Rockies, Padres, and Diamondbacks three times while facing the Giants twice. The Dodgers have been dominating as they have a +57 run differential and a 10-2 home record this year. 

Their roster looks like one of an All-Star game but their pitching has been the biggest thing as they lost Max Scherzer in the offseason and also do not have Trevor Bauer for an extended period of time. Despite that, the Dodgers are still leading MLB with a 2.21 team ERA and are essentially leading in all the pitching stats this year.

A big thing offensively is avoiding hitting into double plays and the Dodges have hit into 15 in the season so far. All in all, go with the Dodgers as shockingly, this will be the best odds you likely will see for them. 

San Diego Padres (+424)

The San Diego Padres are currently a game back of the Dodgers with a 16-9 record and have a +20 run differential. A big reason why is their 10-5 record on the road thus far. They faced the Diamondbacks four times, Giants three times, and Dodgers three times. San Diego does a good job getting on base as they are third in MLB with a .325 OBP so far this year. Remember that they have been without shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr so far this season. 

Their starting pitching has been good with Joe Musgrove, Sean Manaea, and MacKenzie Gore all doing well while Yu Darvish and Blake Snell have not produced much thus far. The bullpen needs to step up though as they are currently 24th in the sport with a 4.18 reliever ERA so far and need that to correct itself with four blown saves thus far in 15 opportunities. However, the Padres are playing well so go with the San Diego Padres at +424 here as well. 

San Francisco Giants (+437)

The San Francisco Giants have been doing well as they are currently fourth in the division but have a 14-10 record so far with a +24 run differential. They have done well on the road as they are currently 8-5 on the road to begin the year. They have played the Padres for three games and the Dodgers for two games thus far so they have a lot of divisional play ahead of them. However, this team does not feel like the 2021 team did to begin. 

The offense has been one of the middling teams throughout the first month of the season. Carlos Rodon has been doing extremely well and has pitched well as their ace as he has a .141 batting average against thus far but need Logan Webb, Alex Wood, and Anthony DeSclafani all have to improve. This team is talented but feels like a Wild Card team as their ceiling so avoid betting them to win the NL West this season.