Phillies Still Favored to Win NL East Despite Losing 6 of Last 10

• The Philadelphia Phillies (12-10) are tied for the NL East lead
• OF Bryce Harper has five HR and 14 RBI in his first season since signing a 13-year, $330 million deal in free agency
• SP Aaron Nola is off to a slow start but should rebound only one year after finishing third in NL Cy Young voting
  

  ---

There’s good news and bad news for the Philadelphia Phillies.

They’ve been awful lately losing six of their last 10 games. On the bright side, however, the rest of division hasn’t been any better so they still own a share of the division lead.

2019 National League East Odds

*Odds taken 04/23/19

The Phillies’ average NL East odds are +200 across a number of top online sportsbooks and, for my money, they’re still the best value bet on the board.

Bryce Harper wasn't having it tonight 😡 pic.twitter.com/DwnzRMtX46

— ESPN (@espn) April 23, 2019

All 5 NL East Teams are Struggling

You can essentially throw out the Phillies’ recent struggles when it comes to considering them to win the NL East. Their 4-6 record in the last 10 games is actually tied for the best in the division over that stretch. The Phillies, Mets, Nationals, and Braves are all separated by 1.5 games, so you can almost wipe the slate clean and return to whatever opinion you had to start the year.

.@chevrolet #PlayBall reporter Ethan goes 1-on-1 with @TheCUTCH22. pic.twitter.com/QqHSMtRxJB

— Play Ball (@PlayBall) April 22, 2019

With injury concerns surrounding Jacob deGrom you could argue Philadelphia has the best pitcher in the division with Aaron Nola.  He’s been ugly out of the gate this year, but 25 innings of baseball doesn’t erase last year’s performance where he posted a 17-6 record with a 2.37 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.

With injury concerns surrounding Jacob deGrom you could argue Philadelphia has the best pitcher in the division with Aaron Nola.

When it comes to the offensive side, the Phillies will have the best lineup once Bryce Harper settles in and starts to mash the baseball. He has five HR and 14 RBI so far which isn’t a terrible start, but he’ll be expected to offer more after signing his 13-year, $330 million deal in free agency.

Find the Value When Making Futures Bets

The tough part about futures bets is identifying the value plays. In the NL East you’re lucky with none of the five teams being listed as a clear favorite. The fact the Phillies are listed as the most likely team to win the race and they’re still getting +195 is great news for the betting public.

Dinger. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/uHXNq0fY96

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 21, 2019

The obvious concern is oddsmakers won’t want to be giving rich value to every team in a division for very long, so once one of the teams proves themselves capable, they’ll like take a big jump. The time is now to get in on the Phillies if you believe in them like I do. There are lots of reasons to believe they’ll come through and really, not much reason to like any of the other clubs in the NL East.

Pick: Philadelphia Phillies (+195)