3 Keys to Yankees Winning the AL East 

Not many (any?) MLB fans outside of New York saw the Yankees getting off to the best start in all of baseball last season. 

Coming off a wire-to-wire AL East crown and a record-breaking season for the new AL home run champ Aaron Judge, expectations in New York as high as they’ve been in years. 

Winning one of baseball’s most competitive divisions in back-to-back seasons won’t be easy, but there’s a clear path if the Yankees have a few key factors to break their way. 

I’ll get into those – and New York’s futures bets – in a bit, but first, you’ll want to learn about one of the best promotions in sports betting at DraftKings Sportsbook.

DraftKings Sportsbook Promo

DraftKings is offering special access to a can’t-miss promotion for Yankees fans: Bet $5 on any moneyline, win $150 in bonus bets when your team wins! 

With the MLB regular season right around the corner, you won’t want to miss out on the opportunity to start building your bankroll off just a $5 deposit. 

All you have to do is sign up for DraftKings Sportsbook using this link, verify your identity, deposit at least $5, and then wager at least $5 on any team’s moneyline. 

Since you can bet on any team’s moneyline, it only makes sense to lock in your bonus cash on a MASSIVE favorite! 

Now let’s get back to breaking down the Yankees, and why you might want to use some of your bonus cash on their futures bets. 

Three keys to New York winning the AL East

New York is in a tough division, but the Red Sox and Orioles don’t appear to be serious threats to the division crown this season. However, that still leaves Toronto and Tampa Bay, who both are poised to be even better this season. 

If New York is going to hold onto this division title, it will need these three things to work out in their favor: 

1. Starting pitching health 

This is something you could say for just about any team, but it’s particularly important for the Yankees.

The season already got off to an uninspiring start when Frankie Montas – acquired for Ken Waldichuk and JP Sears – announced that he will have to undergo shoulder surgery and could miss most or all of the season. 

That puts even more pressure on Luis Severino to stay healthy. Once pegged to be New York’s ace of the future, Severino has battled elbow and shoulder injuries over the past few seasons. He’s pitched in just 26 games since the start of the 2019 season.

If Severino can stay healthy and take on a full workload, that would go a long way in fortifying the Yankees’ rotation. 

2. Another big year for Judge

 It was no coincidence that Judge’s career year also coincided with a stellar season for the Yankees.

The American League home run king and 2022 MVP signed a nine-year extension to return to New York, and it could have been the biggest offseason move in years for the team. Even if Judge takes a small step back from hitting .311 with 62 home runs, he is still one of the biggest game-changers the sport has to offer.

If he can stay healthy and avoid any prolonged slumps, New York should at least be in playoff contention.

3. Own the division again 

One easy way to win a division is by beating the other teams in it.

New York was an impressive 47-29 against its four divisional opponents last season, including owning a winning record against all four teams. It’s hard to repeat a stat like that, especially against teams like Toronto, Tampa Bay and even the upstart Orioles, but if New York can even come close to that record, they’re in a GREAT spot to win the division. 

The Yankees should be in a good spot even if only two of these key factors work in their favor. New York is currently -425 to make the playoffs, +110 to win the AL East, +360 to win the American League pennant and +750 to win the World Series. Most of these futures bets offer plenty of value if you think New York will take the league by storm as it did last season. 

But regardless of what you bet on, it’s best to do it with bonus cash at your disposal. Sign up with DraftKings today to start building your bankroll for this MLB season. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.