MLB Betting: 2 Best MLB Futures Bets to Target for the 2026 Season

The MLB season is on the horizon as the first game takes place March 25.

Ahead of the 2026 campaign, which MLB futures bets stand out via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook?

All MLB odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change after this article is published.

Best MLB Futures Bets for 2026

Dodgers Under 103.5 Wins (-112)

Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a super team and might be better than they were a year ago. With that said, I think there are reasons to be into the under on their win total of 103.5.

The Dodgers having a loaded team is nothing new, yet here are LA's win totals over the last three years (starting with 2025 and going back): 93, 98 and 100.

I think last year was really telling as the Dodgers seemed to basically use the regular season as a chance to gear up for the playoffs. They were cautious with pitchers like Shohei Ohtani (41.1 innings pitched) and Blake Snell (61.1) in an effort to make sure those guys were ready to rock in October. It worked as both Ohtani and Snell were healthy and dealing in the postseason.

That strategy resulted in the Dodgers having only the third-most wins in the NL last season and having to play in the Wild Card Round. Surely LA would love to lock down one of the two byes this time around, but as we've seen, the regular season is almost an extended spring training for them -- something that makes this win total seem a bit lofty.

On top of that, Freddie Freeman is 36 years old and Mookie Betts is 33. Both players showed major signs of regression last year, with Freeman (.350) and Betts (.330) both posting the lowest expected wOBAs of their careers.

The Dodgers are super deep and comically loaded. Maybe they'll put more emphasis on the regular season after failing to reach 100 wins in each of the past two years. But given how those two seasons ended -- with titles -- I don't see any reason for the Dodgers to do anything differently.

FanGraphs projects LA for 99.6 wins, and I'm in line with that.

Sal Stewart National League Rookie of the Year (+700)

The National League Rookie of the Year odds will be a fun market to follow as there are so many good young players in the mix, especially if prospects JJ Wetherholt (+450) and Konnor Griffin (+700) break camp with their big-league teams.

I'm bullish on Sal Stewart jumping to the front of what should be a very competitive pack.

Stewart got the call up to the Cincinnati Reds late last year and lit it up. Across 58 plate appearances, he racked up a .398 expected wOBA with five jacks. He recorded a 45.0% hard-hit rate and 42.5% fly-ball rate. Yes, please.

Of course, we can't put too much stock into 58 plate appearances, but Stewart's minor-league track record gives me some faith in that small sample.

Over two levels and 494 minor-league plate appearances in 2025, Stewart amassed 20 dingers and a .414 wOBA with just a 15.8% strikeout rate. Stewart has posted high walk rates and low K rates at just about every stop of his journey to the bigs, so he might be able to improve on his 25.9% K rate and 5.2% walk rate from his small MLB sample.

Playing at Great American Ball Park should only help his numbers, and Stewart will likely be locked into a meaty spot in the lineup, with Roster Resource forecasting him to hit fifth.

ZiPS projects Stewart for a .324 wOBA, 19 homers, 72 runs and 76 RBI. That's pretty dang good for a rookie, and I think there's a chance he can outdo those numbers.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.