Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday July 18, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/17/2014

Entering the second half of the baseball season we know that the American League will have home-field advantage in the World Series. Thus, you can get a Fall Classic price right now at Sportsbook.ag with the AL as a -115 favorite, although the Series rarely goes seven games these days. The favored World Series matchup by far is Dodgers against A's at +700. I wonder if any of the books might put out a prop on a California team winning the Series against the field. Think I'd take the Golden State. Here's a look at five interesting matchups on Friday.

MLB Betting Advice: Hot and Cold Teams for Runline Wagering
by Ricky Dimon - 7/17/2014

Last year, Boston won it all, and Texas finished just one game out of a playoff spot with an impressive 91-72 record. Well, 2013 ain’t walkin’ through that door. The Red Sox and Rangers are now two of the eight worst teams in baseball and two of the three worst teams against the runline. Meanwhile, teams like the Mets, Padres and White Sox are making bank for their backers.

MLB Betting: AL & NL MVP Odds at All-Star Break
by Alan Matthews - 7/16/2014

I didn't do a spring AL & NL Most Valuable Player preview story this season, but you will have to take my word for it that my choices back then were Toronto's Jose Bautista in the Junior Circuit and the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton in the National League. I still have a shot on getting both right, but more so on Stanton.

Sports Betting Insights: Betting on the Second Half of the MLB Season
by Dave Schwab - 7/16/2014

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game marks the official separation between the first half of the regular season and the start of an extended stretch run to the playoffs. For anyone who likes to wager on MLB, it also marks a slight change in how you have to handicap the games.

2014 MLB Home Run Derby Picks and Betting Odds
by Dave Schwab - 7/14/2014

Major League Baseball will take a break from its regular season schedule this week to stage its annual All-Star Game this Tuesday night at Target Field in Minnesota. As a warm up for all of this week’s festivities, the fan-favorite Home Run Derby will be held on Monday night starting at 8 p.m. (ET).

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday July 12, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/11/2014

I can't remember a day like Thursday in baseball in a long time. The Yankees (Masahiro Tanaka), Blue Jays (Adam Lind), Cardinals (Yadier Molina) and Reds (Brandon Phillips) all got terrible news on guys they can't afford to lose for an extended period. The beneficiaries of those injuries are clearly the Orioles in the AL East and Brewers/Pirates in the NL Central. If I'm one of those teams, I'm making a trade now because the division is there for the taking. Here's a look at five interesting matchups on Saturday's schedule.

Tracking the Nationals: Season-Long MLB Picks and Handicapping for Washington Baseball
by Dave Schwab - 7/10/2014

Doc’s Sports is a firm believer that specialization when wagering on MLB games can be a very successful betting strategy, and in an effort to prove the point we have been releasing free MLB picks each week for the Washington Nationals during the entire MLB regular season. My job has been to track and handicap the Nationals this season with the goal of developing a high-level of familiarity with the team that should enhance the predictability of the actual outcome of their games. The goal of my weekly free picks is to return a long-term profit over the course of the year.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday July 11, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/10/2014

You know that bet you placed on the New York Yankees to win the American League East? Throw away that ticket, it's not happening. Not after the news Wednesday night that ace Masahiro Tanaka is headed to the DL and for an MRI due to elbow inflammation. This is a well below-.500 team when Tanaka doesn't start. If it needs Tommy John surgery, the Yanks are up the creek for half of next year, too. Currently the team's ace is 39-year-old Hiroki Kuroda. Here's a look at his start and four other matchups Friday

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday July 10, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/9/2014

Thursday is an interesting day in baseball as we will learn which player from the American League and National League won the fan vote for the final spot on the All-Star Game rosters. I think both Chicago players get them: White Sox pitcher Chris Sale and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. As of the last update Sale was leading in the AL but Rizzo is a bit behind NL-leader Justin Morneau of the Rockies.

Sports Betting Insights: Wagering on Mid-Season MLB Futures
by Dave Schwab - 7/9/2014

The MLB regular season has reached the mid-point of its extended 162-game schedule, and Bovada has updated its MLB futures odds to reflect the results from the first half of the season. The trick in betting MLB futures this time of the year is finding the value in the numbers now that you have a good idea of which teams are true contenders and which ones have proven to be pretenders.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/8/2014

It's getaway day for a few MLB teams on Wednesday, meaning bettors get four matinee games to wager on, always a nice thing. Perhaps a baseball/Argentina-Netherlands parlay? Two of the four afternoon games are potential playoff matchups: Dodgers at Tigers (+900 on Sportsbook.ag to be the World Series matchup) and Blue Jays at Angels, although both of those clubs may have to go the wild-card route and face off in that one-game playoff. Here's a look at those two games and three others Wednesday.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, July 8, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/7/2014

Say what you want about interleague play, but it at least occasionally gives us a possible glimpse at a World Series matchup. That's the case Tuesday when the Dodgers begin a two-game series in Detroit. The Dodgers are the +200 favorites at Sportsbook.ag to win the NL pennant, while the Tigers had been AL favorites most of the year but have been passed by Oakland in the wake of the stunning trade the A's made over the weekend (more on that later this week). Here's a look at the Dodgers-Tigers matchup and four other interesting games.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday July 5, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/4/2014

If you are into baseball's All-Star Game, then you will want to tune into ESPN on Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET for the All-Star Selection Show. The voting ended Thursday, but MLB/ESPN obviously want to keep a bit of suspense in a ratings grab. I'm not big on the All-Star Game, but certainly World Series contenders care a little in case they need a home Game 7 in the Fall Classic. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there. Here's a look at five interesting matchups on Saturday.

MLB Handicapping: Examining the Oakland Athletics Success
by Trevor Whenham - 7/3/2014

Maybe there is something to this whole moneyball thing after all. The Oakland Athletics have lost their last three games, yet they are still comfortably not just atop their division or league, but they have the best record in all of baseball. We have become used to success from this team — they have been in the playoffs each of the last two years. They have lost to the Tigers each of the last two years, though, and have not seemed like they have underachieved in doing so. This year, though, they are operating on a whole new level.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday July 4, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/3/2014

It's arguably the best day of regular-season baseball in the United States on Friday, Independence Day, with games ranging from morning to night and many on national TV. It might be better than Opening Day because not every team plays on the same Opening Day now. If you are a baseball betting junkie, it doesn't get much better. In addition, it's often a good time to bet on baseball futures because division leaders on July 4 win the division around 60 percent of the time since 1995. Here's a look at five interesting matchups.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday July 3, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/2/2014

This could be the weekend that the Tampa Bay Rays decide whether or not to trade David Price. The Rays have won four straight entering Wednesday's series finale against the Yankees. Should Tampa Bay keep the momentum going and take three of four in Detroit, the Rays likely have to keep trying to get back in the wild-card race. However, if the Tigers pull off a sweep, which is eminently possible (Price pitches the Sunday night ESPN game), then I think Tampa Bay officially decides Price will be traded with less than four weeks until the deadline.

MLB Totals Betting Trends Report
by Aaron Smith - 7/1/2014

In the last totals trends report I mentioned the fact that the ‘over’ had consistently been ahead of the ‘under’ in the season-to-date numbers. I also mentioned that there were likely going to be some major fluctuations as the season continued. As it turns out, the under has been on amazing run throughout baseball in the past couple weeks. In the past month, the under has cashed in 210 times and the over just 181 times.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/1/2014

You know the drill: Anytime a pitcher throws a no-hitter, I must address his next start on the very unlikely chance that he matches the consecutive no-nos by Cincinnati's Johnny Vander Meer in the summer of 1938. Of course, this time I'm talking about the Giants' Tim Lincecum. You can actually bet on Sportsbook.ag's daily MLB player specials on whether a pitcher will throw a no-hitter on that day. Pays off at a cool +8000. A perfect game? +35000. Here's a look at Lincecum's matchup and four others on Tuesday.

MLB Betting Advice: Hot and Cold Teams for Runline Wagering
by Ricky Dimon - 7/1/2014

We are right at the halfway point of the Major League Baseball season and rapidly approaching the all-star break. It cannot come soon enough for the Tampa Bay Rays, who are the worst team in the business both overall and against the runline. Another division cellar-dweller, Houston in the American League West, has as many runline wins as any other team in the bigs.

Tracking the Nationals: Season-Long MLB Picks and Handicapping for Washington Baseball
by Dave Schwab - 7/1/2014

Specialization when wagering on MLB games can be a very successful betting strategy, and to try and prove the point Doc’s Sports has been releasing free MLB picks each week for the Washington Nationals during this MLB regular season. I have been tracking and handicapping the Nationals’ games each week in an effort to develop a high level of familiarity with the team. Familiarity helps to improve predictability, which should hopefully lead a long-term profit with my free MLB picks.