The first pitch of Major League Baseball 2011 has yet to be thrown, but the 'Cat's out of the Bag' regarding the Oakland Athletics. This is a team that might have the best ensemble of pitching than any club in the American League and because of that, the A's might be the best 2011 World Series Picks futures value at +3000 odds.
Over the past few years, the A's organization has been building a nice ball club built on solid pitching where depth is a rare commodity, solid defense and enough offense to keep the pitching out of trouble. The team finished an even .500 (81-81) in 2010 and if they live up to this years expectations, could improve on that by 20 games.
Over at Sportsbook.com, MLB Odds experts have installed AL West championship odds on Oakland at +180, a close second to the Texas Rangers now at EVEN odds. The Los Angeles Angels are expected to be competitive at +280 odds. The Seattle Mariners, at +2000 are predicted to bring up the bottom of the division again in 2011. Oddsmakers list the A's AL championship odds at +1200.
Pitching is just about everything in baseball and that's a luxury the Athletics have. Right-hander Trevor Cahill will be joined in the rotation by lefties Dallas Braden, Brett Anderson and Gio Gonzalez, all who averaged 3.47 ERA in 2010. Their rotation also led MLB with 103 quality starts last year, holding opposing batters to a .243 average. These big four will be joined by newcomer Brandon McCarthy as the No. 5 man in the rotation.
It would not be that big of a stretch in your MLB Predictons having the Athletics playing the Giants in another cross-bay World Series this October.
