The Kansas City Royals are in the thick of a rebuild right now, relying on young players like Bobby Witt Jr, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Brady Singer.
This season is about the continued development of their youth. They’re currently projected to finish last in the AL Central.
While the lineup has some talent, with Witt and Pasquantino joined by MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez, the rotation is going to be a weakness here.
Singer looked terrific in the second half last year, but aside from him, there’s Jordan Lyles, Ryan Yarbrough, Brad Keller, and Daniel Lynch. In other words, we have a talented young arm accompanied by a bunch of veteran innings-eaters.
While expectations are low for this ball club, that doesn’t mean that we can’t find some value here. So without further ado, let’s get right into the Royals’ top betting odds for 2023.
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Royals Top Betting Odds 2023
Royals MLB betting odds are current as of Mar. 7 at 1 p.m. EST from Caesars Sportsbook.
- World Series Winners: (+20000)
- Win American League pennant: (+7500)
- Win AL Central title: (+4500)
- Win Total: Over 69.5 (-110) | Under 69.5 (-110)
The Royals have long odds across the board, as it would be a major surprise to see this team in the playoffs, let alone win the AL Central or contend for the World Series.
While we generally prefer to focus futures bets on a greater return on investment, there’s no point betting on the Royals to be a contending team, even with such enticing odds.
That means that focusing on their win total is the correct approach with this team, even though it’s tough to tie up your bankroll for a longer timeframe with only -110 odds.
Their current total of 69.5 wins may look like a low bar, but this is the market to target with the Royals.
2023 MLB Futures Odds
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Royals Futures Bets 2023
Below you’ll find the top Royals futures bets for the 2023 season.
Under 69.5 Wins (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
The Royals went 65-97 with a -170 run differential last season.
Their offense was in the bottom third of MLB, posting a 93 wRC+ (T-21st) and .136 ISO (24th). There’s not much power on this team, but that was obviously affected by Perez (48 HR in 2021) finishing with 200+ fewer plate appearances, resulting from injuries.
On a positive note, this offense does a good job putting the ball in play, as they had the eighth-lowest strikeout rate in baseball. Still, even with a full year of Pasquantino, we can project continued mediocrity in 2023.
The rotation is paper thin behind Singer, as Lyles (4.39 xFIP), Yarbrough (4.50 ERA), Keller (16.5 K%), and Lynch (1.44 HR/9) each struggled last season.
The bullpen isn’t much better, posting a 4.42 xFIP (28th) and 21.2 K% (T-26th) last season. While Scott Barlow and Dylan Coleman are good relievers, they need more from pitchers like Aroldis Chapman, Josh Staumont, and Amir Garrett if they’re going to improve.
The risk you take with rebuilding teams is that when it comes to later stages of the season, you often see them bottoming out as they focus more on their young players.
With that in mind, taking the Under on a low bar like 69.5 wins looks appealing with the Royals.
Royals Player Prop Bets 2023
Bobby Witt Jr. to Lead in Stolen Bases (+1200) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
Witt stole 30 bases in 643 plate appearances in his rookie season after combining for 29 steals in 123 games across Double-A and Triple-A in 2021.
The future star infielder has 100th-percentile sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant. In other words, he’s one of the fastest players in baseball.
The new rules should benefit Witt because the bases will be larger and the pitch clock will keep pitchers on their heels, making it more difficult to limit base-running.
There’s a good chance that Witt builds on last season’s total, perhaps even eclipses 40 stolen bases. That would put him firmly in contention to lead MLB in steals.
At +1200 odds, we’re getting terrific value here.
Bobby Witt Jr. Over 22.5 Home Runs (-115) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
We’ll go with another Witt prop here, this time taking the Over on his home run total. All we need here is 23 homers, which is a low bar for a young star.
Witt put up 20 home runs in 632 plate appearances as a 21-year-old rookie, so he was only three homers off track at such a young age.
If we look at his Statcast page on Baseball Savant, we see that he ranks in the 93rd-percentile with a 113.7 MPH maximum exit velocity. That means that there is some untapped power upside with Witt.
Steamer projects the young infielder to hit 25 home runs this season, which is comfortably Over this number. The fact that Witt’s median projection is already Over this prop makes this a strong bet.
How to Bet Royals Moneylines
Moneyline bets are a simple way of wagering on MLB games. All you need to do is pick the winner of the game, and you’ll win your bet.
The odds are quite easy to understand, too. For example, if the Royals are a (-200) favorite, you would have to bet $20 to win $10. If they’re a (+200) underdog, you can win $20 off a $10 bet.
These odds will change every day depending upon the Royals’ matchup, so there’s always an opportunity for value every step of the way.
How to Bet Royals Run Line
Run Line betting is another common way to bet on MLB games, and you’re probably already familiar with it. You may know it as how much a team is “picked by" to win.
If the Royals are 1.5 run favorites over the Tigers, the Run Line would look something like this: Royals -1.5 (+150) vs Tigers +1.5 (-200).
In this scenario, the Royals would have to win by more than one run to cash your bet.
How to Bet Royals Over/Unders
If you’re unsure about the Royals’ moneyline or run line on a given day, you can still place a bet on the Over/Under — or total — in the matchup.
Sportsbooks will set a line for how many combined runs they project will be scored. From there, you can bet on the Over or Under.
For example, if you believe in the Royals’ offense and think it’ll be a high-scoring game, then you’ll want to take the Over. However, if it’s supposed to be more of a pitcher’s duel, you should go with the Under.
