Braves 2023 MLB futures odds: Atlanta taking most action to win World Series, Ronald Acuna Jr. favored for NL MVP, steals crown but not 40-40 season

How good have the Atlanta Braves been? Atlanta has just five losses since June 3, with two of those defeats coming in extra innings and one by a single run. That has catapulted the Braves to the best record in the majors at 60-29 and positioned the team as the clear +330 favorite to win the World Series at Caesars Sportsbook. No other team is listed below +550. Superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is having a season for the ages and could get a unique Triple Crown of sorts: an NL MVP win, the NL stolen-base crown and membership in the 40-40 club.

The Braves, who host the White Sox Friday in their first game out of the break, are taking easily the most action at the book to win their second title in three years: 21% of the tickets and 28% of the money. DraftKings, meanwhile, has several interesting other props on the Braves. They are given a wins total head-to-head price of -650 against the Tampa Bay Rays (+450), who are second in MLB with 58 victories.

That Atlanta finishes with the best overall record in the majors is -330. That it is the NL's top seed is -900 with an 8.5-game lead over second-place Miami in the Senior Circuit.

DK also gives an Over/Under of most wins by an team at 104.5, with the Under a slight favorite. The Braves are set at a league-high 103.5 wins, with both at -110. How many 100-win teams will there be? One is the -135 favorite and none is +370. The Braves, Reds and Dodgers all making the playoffs – they all lead or co-lead their NL divisions – is +115 with No at -140. Clearly, that no is for Cincinnati.

Aaron Judge had arguably the best offensive season for an AL player in history last year. I'm not about to say that Acuña Jr. will have the best for an NL player this year after some of the numbers Barry Bonds put up in his prime, but Acuña could be on a short list with Bonds if he stays healthy. Acuña is second in the NL with a .331 average to go with 21 homers and 44 steals in 89 games, and is the -330 MVP favorite.

Only four players have ever hit 40 homers and stolen 40 bases in a season:

1. 1988 – Oakland's Jose Canseco (42 HR, 40 SB)
2. 1996 – San Francisco's Barry Bonds (42 HR, 40 SB)
3. 1998 – Seattle's Alex Rodriguez (42 HR, 46 SB)
4. 2006 – Washington's Alfonso Soriano (46 HR, 41 SB)

Lots of players have hit 40 homers since Soriano had the last 40-40, but not many have stolen 40 bases. That was largely a lost art of baseball until this year, when the league instituted the pitch clock, throw-over limitations and bigger bases. Those changes have massively benefited potential base-stealers. Runners have a near-79% success rate of the time, which is frankly shocking. St. Louis is last in the majors at a very good 71.8%. The worst base-stealing team in 2022 had a 63.7% success rate.

Atlanta is third at 85.4% with Acuña Jr. caught seven times in 48 attempts. He became the first player in history with 20 homers and 35 steals in the first half of a season and is on pace to hit 36 home runs and steal 75 bases. DK has set his O/U HR total at 36.5, with the Under a slight favorite.

DK doesn't offer an O/U stolen-base prop for Acuna but FanDuel does: 68.5 (both -113). Acuna is the -160 DK favorite to win the overall steals title despite sitting two behind Oakland's Esteury Ruiz (+100). Why isn't Ruiz favored? He's currently on the injured list, retroactive to July 6, with a right shoulder subluxation. It's not clear if he will be ready to be activated when eligible.

As for Friday's game, the White Sox start Michael Kopech on the mound, and Acuña has never faced him in a regular-season game. This will be Kopech's first-ever look at Atlanta.

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