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It’s just about mid-August, which means the future market for the pennant is rounding into form. With an additional wild card spot it has made the odds market more interesting then ever. With teams bunched up all over the place it can be hard not to have tunnel vision when looking at the future market.

It’ll be interesting to see which teams secure a playoff spot and distance themselves from the pack over the next month.

There are currently ten teams above the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL pennant odds. They’re 40-1 to accomplish an AL title and 100-1 to win the world series.

It’s hard to look beyond the cream of the crop of which teams are hot right now. The Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays, Astros, etc. have the players and manager that draw money attention.

I’m typically not one to follow the money at limited odds, especially this early in the pennant race. Value of the Rays is far too high on where it should be in my opinion.

Their hitting and lineup may not have heralded players but they get the job done. They’ve knocked around some of the best pitchers in MLB this year including Chris Sale and Corey Kluber recently.

With Odorizzi back off the DL it just strengthens a backing of such odds at this time.

It’ll be a hard feat to make the playoffs with all the talented teams vying for a playoff spot. But why can’t they get it done?

Currently the Rays are four games back for the second wild card position. If they were able to secure the spot, I sure don’t want to have that regretful feeling of missing out on 40-1 or 100-1 odds with Chris Archer deciding the wild card game.

Long-shot approved: Tampa Bay Rays—August 10th, 2015