Guardians 2024 World Series predictions, odds and best bets to make today

For outsiders, the 2024 season did not begin with high expectations for the Cleveland Guardians. As Major League Baseball has learned again this season, however, expectations don't help or hurt the standings.

Five months later, Cleveland has clinched a playoff berth, and the Guardians' 2024 World Series odds have astronomically improved.

The Guardians clinched a playoff berth Thursday with a 3-2 win over the Twins thanks to Andrés Giménez's RBI single in the home half of the 10th inning. They can clinch the AL Central title as early as Saturday.

Playing in the postseason is nice, but do the Guardians have what it takes to eliminate teams with the firepower like the Yankees, Orioles and Astros? The playoffs are a different game, so baseball fans never really know what they're going to see.

Let's look closer at the Guardians' 2024 World Series odds and their chances of winning their first world title since 1948.

Guardians 2024 World Series odds and predictions Online sportsbooks have all kinds of betting markets when it comes to the MLB postseason. You can bet on anything from which team will win the World Series to which team will win World Series MVP.

Let's analyze some of those betting markets and how the Guardians shape up in each of them:

Guardians to make World Series (+470 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook): Cleveland is in a great position to get one of the byes into the AL Division series. That means the Guardians will only need to win two AL playoff series to reach the World Series.

Guardians vs. Philadelphia World Series odds (+1600 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook): The Phillies have been to the NLCS each of the past two seasons, so they know how to go deep in the playoffs.

Guardians vs. Atlanta World Series best bet (+8000 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook): The Braves have a little work to do to reach the postseason, but they're at their best against the teams with the best records so it would not be surprising to see them make a run. And what a payoff it would be.

Guardians to win World Series (+1000 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook): This is a nice price, but Cleveland doesn't have a lot of players who have proven they can excel in the playoffs. The rotation is especially lacking in that department.

Guardians World Series MVP odds (Jose Ramirez +2200 odds at BetMGM Sportsbook): As the team leader in hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored and stolen bases, Ramirez is the straw that stirs the drink for Cleveland.

Guardians 2024 World Series odds history The Guardians were in the back of the World Series odds in spring training because they were coming off a lackluster season in which they did not make the playoffs.

Cleveland didn't make many big moves in the offseason following that postseason miss, so there was nothing tangible to point to for them to be among the World Series favorites.

Those odds were more than cut in half on May 1 thanks to Cleveland's 19-10 record in March and April. The odds slowly dropped until the All-Star break but then rose a little bit after the Guardians went 25-29 in July and August.

Things are looking up since then, however, and the Guardians are 12-6 in September heading into the Friday through Sunday series in St. Louis.

Timeline of Guardians 2024 World Series odds Here is a timeline of Cleveland's World Series odds throughout the season.

: +6600

May 1: +3000

June 1: +2500

July 1: +1600

Aug. 1: +1800

Sept. 1: +1600

How to Bet Guardians 2024 World Series odds When you open up your favorite sports betting app every day, you are greeted with odds for every game that day. Making those wagers is fun, but when the game is over your sweat is over. Did you know you can make a bet that will last a lot longer?

That's where futures bets come in.

Futures bets are wagers on something that will be decided in the future, such as MLB World Series odds. Sportsbooks post these odds well before a season begins — sometimes even immediately after the previous season ends.

There can be a lot of value in futures bets for those who are good at forecasting the future. For instance, if you bet today on the Guardians to win the World Series, you'll get odds anywhere from 10-to-1 to 13-to-1.

Those are nice prices, but can you imagine if you had bet Cleveland to win it all before the season began? You would have a ticket with odds of 66-to-1 in your pocket.

Futures odds fluctuate throughout each season, so if you're good at predicting when an underperforming team will break out of its rut, you could get some serious value.

Before the 2023 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks' odds to win the 2023 World Series were 125-to-1. Although they didn't win, they did reach the World Series. So, who's to say the Guardians can't get there despite beginning the season with odds of 66-to-1?