Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, September 2, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/1/2016

The injury bug has hit the incredibly unlucky Mets again as second baseman Neil Walker is dealing with a herniated disc -- the same type of problem that ended third baseman David Wright's year -- and has apparently opted for surgery instead of trying to play through it. That means Walker's season and perhaps Mets career is over as he will be a free agent this winter. He had played only four games since Aug.16 because of the injury and paternity leave.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, September 1, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/31/2016

I believe this is a first since I've been doing these stories for the past few years at Docs: there aren't five games to preview on a given day. It's partly why I don't write Sunday for Monday because Monday is usually the slowest day of the week on the schedule, but there are only four games on Thursday, the first day of September.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, August 31, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/30/2016

The Los Angeles Dodgers admirably lead the NL West Division despite their rotation being ravaged by injury this season. But with all due respect to Clayton Kershaw, who remains on the DL, the last guy the Dodgers can afford to see get hurt now is shortstop Corey Seager, who is your lock NL Rookie of the Year and probably finishes second or third in the NL MVP voting. Los Angeles avoided total disaster on Monday when Seager was hit by a pitch on the left wrist in Colorado as X-rays were negative.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, August 30, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/29/2016

We could see a substantial trade or two around the majors by Wednesday as Aug. 31 is the deadline for teams to acquire players via waivers and have said player eligible for inclusion on the postseason roster. Waivers go by reverse order of standings and if a player is claimed, either the team can pull him back off, trade him to the team with the worst record who claimed him or simply let the guy go and get out from under his contract.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 8/29/2016

This week's look at the hottest and coldest bets in MLB has playoff-contending clubs on both sides of the ledger. The Indians had their lead in the AL Central trimmed while costing bettors big. On the flip side, the Royals and Dodgers each turned tidy profits while boosting their postseason hopes.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 8/29/2016

Several clubs in playoff contention got big production from their bullpens last week. The Pirates, Tigers and Royals relief staffs were a combined 10-for-10 in save opportunities to help keep each club's wild card hopes alive. Of the seven teams to make this week's bullpen hot list, six are in playoff position or contention, with the one outlier being the Oakland A's. This just goes to show just how important relief pitching is in today's game.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, August 27, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/26/2016

Come on Dodgers, send another player to the disabled list before the season is over! Not that I have anything against the Dodgers, but earlier this week they put starting pitchers Brett Anderson and Scott Kazmir on the DL. That tied a big-league record of 27 players put on the disabled list in one season by a team, although statistics for this sort of thing only go back 30 years.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, August 26, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/25/2016

Here's hoping the news isn't bad, but it sure didn't look good when ultra-promising Red Sox rookie outfielder Andrew Benintendi suffered a gruesome knee injury in the sixth inning of Boston's game at Tampa Bay on Wednesday night while running the bases. He had to be helped off the field, although not on a cart, so maybe that's a good thing. Benintendi was to have an MRI on Thursday -- and you never want to speculate on torn ligaments, but I will be surprised if there aren't any.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, August 25, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/24/2016

I know many Chicago Cubs fans who believe this is finally the year the Lovable Losers win the World Series and who plan to try and get tickets (good luck with that!) to one Fall Classic game at Wrigley Field. Well, now we know when those are as MLB released its postseason schedule on Tuesday, and the three games in the National League city are Oct. 28-30. The World Series opens Oct. 25 at the AL park because the Junior Circuit won the All-Star Game.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, August 24, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/23/2016

Potentially devastating news for the Washington Nationals as Cy Young candidate Stephen Strasburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with right elbow soreness. I'll just say it flat out that I don't think the Nationals can win the NL pennant without him. They will still win the NL East, though, with a big lead. When I previewed Strasburg's last start, I wrote that I'll stick with him one more game but would have some concerns that he might be hurt if he struggled again.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 8/23/2016

A lights-out bullpen the past two seasons has led the Kansas City Royals to back-to-back World Series appearances and one world title. Well, the relief staff is back at it in K.C. The Royals bullpen gave up nary a run in 18 innings pitched last week, leading to a perfect 7-0 mark that has lifted Kansas City back into the playoff race.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday August 23, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 8/23/2016

There are only six weeks left in the Major League Baseball regular season, and I think now would be a great time to look at the contenders for the MVP award in each league. The American League MVP race is wide open as Mike Trout and reigning MVP Josh Donaldson have some more competition.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, August 23, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/22/2016

Perhaps I buried the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals too early. They were the worst team in baseball in July with a 7-19 record, dropping to as low as seven games under .500 and 9.5 games out of the AL's second wild-card spot. On Sunday, the Royals won their eighth straight game and 13th in the past 15 to get four games above .500 and just 3.5 games out of the second wild-card spot.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 8/22/2016

Don't write off the defending World Series champs just yet. After being seemingly left for dead earlier this month, the Kansas City Royals have won 11 of 12 games and eight straight heading into Monday's action. Three times last week the Royals won as an underdog, resulting in total profits of 7.3 units, which is the highest one-week total of any club this season.

MLB Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Teams
by Aaron Smith - 8/19/2016

Football is starting to get all the coverage now with the college season fast approaching and NFL Preseason action underway. Look for under-the-radar trends in baseball the rest of the way and see if you can latch onto something while the oddsmakers are a little slower to react than they were in the middle of the summer when it was all about baseball.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, August 20, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/19/2016

Presumably the Detroit Tigers will honor retiring Red Sox DH David Ortiz either Saturday or Sunday at Comerica Park as this will be Ortiz's last time playing in the park barring a playoff matchup. The Tigers haven't won a World Series since 1984 but won the AL Central each year from 2011-14. I believe the best club in that stretch was the 2013 team. I also believe that if Detroit had beaten Boston that year in the ALCS it would have won the World Series over the Cardinals.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, August 19, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/18/2016

Do you still not think that social media affects what decision-makers decide in sports? The Yankees are a prime example of why those who are in charge of sports teams do care what fans think at times. Of course the Yankees in a full-blown youth movement after jettisoning veteran guys like Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, Andrew Miller, etc. Now Brian McCann has been removed as the team's primary catcher in place of top prospect Gary Sanchez (who has been raking since being called up), although McCann will DH many days.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Thursday August 18, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 8/18/2016

There is no question that home-field advantage plays a big part in professional sports. Fans who bleed team colors fill their home stadiums game in and game out to cheer on their home town players. But what happens when a former player comes back to town dawning the opposing team's jersey? What if he was a fan favorite and helped the club during some great and not so great seasons?

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, August 18, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/17/2016

Are you aware that Major League Baseball teams set their own home game times? Not in the playoffs, but in the regular season they do. I mention this because the Red Sox and Tigers could well end up competing for the same wild-card spot. So if I'm Detroit, I'm not going to help Boston in any way. I mention this because the Red Sox requested the Tigers to move Thursday's series opener between the two at Comerica Park from a 1:10 p.m. ET start to a night game because Boston is playing Wednesday night in Baltimore and then obviously would have to travel.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, August 17, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/16/2016

If the Texas Rangers are going to hang on to their AL West lead and repeat in the division, they will do so sans outfielder/DH Shin-Soo Choo. He suffered a fractured forearm after being hit by a pitch Monday night in Oakland and is probably out for the rest of the regular season. The guy used to be a good player but is now really brittle as this will be his fourth DL stint of the season. He's hitting .247 with seven homers and 17 RBIs in 166 at-bats.