Vaughn Dalzell breaks down why taking a ticket on the hottest team since the All-Star break is a good idea.
Chicago Cubs to Make Postseason (+125)
The Chicago Cubs have the best record in the MLB since the All-Star break at 15-8, which is even more impressive after a 1-3 start.
Chicago owns the best batting average (.294), the most runs scored (166), hits (245), steals (31), and the third-most homers (39) after All-Star weekend.
Despite the Cubs’ 25th-ranked ERA (4.84) from the pitching staff, Chicago’s closed out games with seven saves on eight opportunities.
The Cubs won six of the seven series post the All-Star break and face the Mets, Blue Jays, White Sox, Royals, Tigers, Pirates, and Brewers to finish August. Amid that bunch, only the Blue Jays and Brewers are in the playoff race.
Chicago owns one of the more favorable August schedules and should continue this hot streak of 14-4 over the past 18 games.
Looking down the stretch, Chicago has the fourth-easiest remaining strength of schedule and the best schedule in the NL.
The Cubs have two meetings apiece versus the Brewers and Pirates, plus six games against the Rockies and three with the Reds left. I expect the Cubs to make a serious run at the postseason with advantageous NL Central matchups and scheduling overall.
Chicago (58-55) is 1.0 game back of the Reds (60-55) for the final Wild Card spot and between 0.5 and 3.0 games ahead of the Marlins (58-56), Diamondbacks (57-56) and Padres (55-58) who are still in the race.
The Cubs are still within striking distance of the top two Wild Card teams, the Phillies (61-51) and Giants (62-51), who play much tougher schedules down the stretch than Chicago.
Make sure you shop around to get the best price on the Cubs to make the playoffs. DraftKings lists this futures prop on the Cubs to make the postseason at +125 compared to -122 on FanDuel.
Pick: Cubs to make the postseason (1u)
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