Bettors Are All Over The Chicago White Sox To Win The A.L. Central

Don’t look now, but bettors are going in heavy on the Chicago White Sox to win the A.L. Central this year. Although the Minnesota Twins are significant favorites to win the division, the White Sox are listed at +325 via DraftKings Sportsbook.

The craziest part about the 2020 AL Central betting splits? DraftKings has yet to launch in Illinois. Still, the White Sox are bringing in more than half of the money put down on the AL Central in 2020. DraftKings will launch VERY soon in Illinois, in the meantime, BetRivers Illinois recently became the first mobile sports betting app to launch in the state.

2020 A.L. Central Betting Splits

The White Sox are raking in 55% of the total handle and bettors must be expecting a huge turnaround from 2019 to 2020. Chicago finished in third place in the NL Central last season and 28.5 games back of the first-place Twins. Although the White Sox will miss the presence of Michael Kopech in the starting rotation, they have solid depth in the rotation and a lineup filled with young talent.

While the odds-on favorite Twins account for 37% of all bets placed, they’re only bringing in 17% of the total handle. The Cleveland Indians have 17% and 18% of the handle and bets, respectively. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers are both longshots to win it and neither team is seeing much action on DraftKings.

2020 Chicago White Sox Futures & Player Props

Looking at White Sox futures and player props, the over/under on total wins stands out. Reaching 32 wins is entirely possible in the weak A.L. Central. Chicago should beat up on Kansas City and Detroit. If they can manage to perform well against Minnesota and Cleveland, hitting the over on total wins starts to sound like a decent bet. Add in the fact that the White Sox play in a division without a real juggernaut, and the over is looking better and better.

If Lucas Giolito builds on his breakout 2019 season, he could definitely throw his name into the ring for A.L. Cy Young after finishing sixth in voting last season. Of course, Giolito’s only other full season in the big leagues was an unmitigated disaster. In 2018, he finished with an ERA of 6.13 while leading the league in earned runs and walks. That kind of volatility can be a scary proposition for bettors. Dallas Keuchel is a former A.L. Cy Young winner himself, but the crafty lefty is well past his days of posting sub-2.50 ERAs.