Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/24/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/23/2017

Count me among those who were on the Kyle Schwarber bandwagon this season. I figured he was good for 30 homers (not a great average, though) and could help redefine a leadoff hitter as a power guy who could also get on base by walking plenty. The Cubs gave up on the struggling Schwarber hitting leadoff a few weeks ago, and now a guy who was among the spring betting favorites to lead the majors in homers is headed to Triple-A. Frankly, this had to be done. While Schwarber has a solid 12 homers and 28 RBIs, he's hitting .171 with a .295 on-base percentage in 222 at-bats with 75 strikeouts.

MLB Betting Advice: Do Dodgers Have Championship Formula in 2017?
by Trevor Whenham - 6/23/2017

Surely the Dodgers will, sooner or later, live up to the expectations of their massive payroll. And maybe this is finally the year. They are in a three-way race for glory in the NL West, but they have opened up a 1.5-game lead with very strong play and are heavy betting favorites to stay on top. Talent has never been an issue for this team, but they have lacked the toughness and mental focus required to really take advantage of their opportunities. So, is this year finally going to be different? And what do bettors need to keep in mind when looking at the team? Here are four factors to ponder when considering those questions:

MLB Betting Tips: LA Angels a Mediocre Mess
by Trevor Whenham - 6/23/2017

Here's a simple rule for baseball - a team that has the best player in baseball and a seemingly bottomless appetite for payroll should not be so forgettable and frustratingly average as the Los Angeles Angels are. It's just wrong. And, frankly, it shouldn't be possible. The team formerly known as Anaheim sits right at .500 at 38-38 at the moment, and never has there been a more perfect record for a team. They win just as much as they lose, they don't seem to care either way, and they are in no hurry to do anything about it. It's a total mess.

MLB Handicapping: Tampa Bay Rays Surprisingly Competitive
by Trevor Whenham - 6/23/2017

The Tampa Bay Rays would qualify as surprising this year. Certainly not surprising in the class of Colorado, but they are more competitive by far than it seemed reasonable to imagine heading into the season. They are three games over .500 and sit just 2.5 games out of an AL East that no team seems to be in any hurry to lay claim to. The season win total sat at 78.5 before the season, so they aren't massively overachieving, but they are certainly ahead of what seemed like a reasonable pace for them.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/23/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/22/2017

Very interesting news out of Atlanta on Wednesday that could also hugely affect any fantasy baseball leagues in which you compete. The Braves lost their best hitter, Freddie Freeman, to a broken wrist on May 17. He was off to an MVP-caliber start and still won't return until after the All-Star break. Atlanta traded for Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams last month basically as a fill-in for Freeman, with Adams then presumably serving as a big bat off the bench or DH in interleague games. However, Adams has been hitting so well that Braves manager Brian Snitker remarked Wednesday that Freeman could shift to third base, a position he hasn't played since high school.

Free MLB Picks: Best Props Odds for 6/22/2017 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 6/22/2017

I don't think I'm alone when I say that I feel like Major League Baseball is the most unpredictable sport out of the four major North American leagues. There are just so many variables that go into the game, and every single pitch thrown - by either team - has a rippling effect over how a particular inning or even the rest of the game plays out. Slumps in baseball are 10 times worse than a slump in either basketball, hockey or football - both individually and as a team. Currently, three teams that we have grown accustomed to being good for long periods of time are slumping hard. Each of these three teams entered the month of June with postseason aspirations, but a disastrous month has put a damper on those ideas.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/22/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/21/2017

What has been the most impressive recent class of Rookies of the Year in baseball? Last year it was Detroit pitcher Michael Fulmer and Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager. Pretty good but not historic. The 2015 winners, Houston's Carlos Correa and Cubs' Kris Bryant, both are on early Hall of Fame tracks with obviously a long way to go. That Mike Trout/Bryce Harper double in 2012 was spectacular. Yet if the Yankees' Aaron Judge and Dodgers' Cody Bellinger keep going as they have been, they could make this a historic rookie class.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/21/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/20/2017

Really disappointing news if you are a Yankees fan as the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball, infielder Gleyber Torres, needs Tommy John surgery due to a torn UCL in his left (non-throwing) elbow. Torres was the key piece the Bombers acquired from the Cubs last summer in the Aroldis Chapman trade. Torres had been so good in the minors that the rumors were the Yanks were going to call him up soon and use him as the starter at third - or at least see if he was ready to handle big-league pitching. New York's current third baseman, Chase Headley, isn't hitting much.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/20/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/19/2017

The Cubs got relatively good news on reigning NL ERA champion Kyle Hendricks over the weekend. He might not return from right hand tendinitis until after the All-Star break, but it was nothing overly serious and it shouldn't be a long-term thing after an MRI revealed nothing more than the inflammation originally diagnosed in the area from his middle finger into the back of his hand. The issue produces a sharp pain in his middle finger when he grips the ball, preventing him from executing any pitch effectively.

MLB Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Baseball Teams
by Aaron Smith - 6/16/2017

The World Series hangover has been intense for both the Cubs and the Indians. The Cubs are 32-33 and the Indians are 32-31. They were widely expected to be the best teams in baseball again this year. I suggest keeping an eye on the public betting percentages for these teams in the coming weeks. Will the public continue to back these teams or will they tire of laying the big price with teams that are underachieving?

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/17/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/16/2017

The series of the weekend is a potential ALCS (or DS) preview between the Red Sox and Astros. Houston is running away with the AL West and is the +240 pennant favorite at BetOnline. The Red Sox (+450) were spring AL favorites but are currently fourth on the odds behind the Astros, Yankees (+350) and Indians (+400). Expect Houston and Boston to be out looking for a lot of the same pitching help. Both staffs have been hit hard by injuries this season. The Red Sox got a double dose of bad news on Thursday.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/16/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/15/2017

You normally don't see big trades before July, but two teams with World Series aspirations, the Yankees and Cubs, could make a move before that out of desperation. The Cubs now don't know when Kyle Hendricks, last year's NL ERA champion, will return. He was placed on the DL last weekend with hand tendinitis and hoped to have the minimum stay but experienced discomfort on Tuesday while testing his right hand during a throwing session. The pain is in the back of his hand in the area extending from his middle finger.

Free MLB Picks: Best Props Odds for 6/15/2017 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 6/15/2017

About a month ago I put together my first MLB Power Rankings for the 2017 season. I took a lot of different things into account, including wins and losses, stats, the luck factor, but I mostly relied on my instincts and the "eye" test. I am a firm believer that what you see is what you get and that the numbers can be skewed or manipulated in one way or another to make a case (good or bad) for how or why any particular team is playing the way they are. In my last power rankings, I had the Houston Astros on top, followed by the Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/15/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/14/2017

Watching the Golden State Warriors finish off the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games Monday and with the Dubs poised for a dynasty - at least the next two seasons, and they are already -150 favorites for next year - with their four main stars all locked up through 2018-19, is there a player in baseball who would cause such a dramatic power shift like Kevin Durant did going to the Warriors? You would have to start with a very good team because Golden State already was that before Durant arrived.

MLB Betting Tips and Advice: Under-the-Radar Pitchers Providing Nice Profits
by Trevor Whenham - 6/13/2017

It doesn't take a baseball handicapping savant to figure out that there is money to be made this year betting on guys like Dallas Keuchel, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale or Stephen Strasburg. What is far more interesting, though, is to look at guys who are producing profits at similar or better rates than those superstars, and are doing it while drawing a whole lot less attention. Those are the guys that can deliver some nice prices and decent value to people who are paying attention. Here are seven MLB betting tips with advice for under-the-radar profit superstars up to this point in the season:

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: 6/14/2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/13/2017

The Rays have been a moderate surprise so far this season as they are right in the wild-card race, but I expect them to fall out soon and eventually be a seller ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. That's because the team is going to be without center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, a defensive dynamo, and pitcher Matt Andriese each until August. Kiermaier, who got a six-year extension before this season, will miss at least two months with a hairline fracture in his right hip. The 2016 AL Gold Glove winner was hitting .258 with seven homers, 20 RBIs and 10 steals in 62 games.

Overrated MLB Betting Teams: Minnesota Twins
by Trevor Whenham - 6/13/2017

People keep trying to convince me that this Minnesota Twins team is a contender. What a joke. I will be frank. I hate this team. I don't mind them in the long term, but as a team that is trying to contend right now they just don't measure up in any key way. They are only where they are - a game and a half in first place as I write - because the division can't get out of their own way. They just aren't good enough. Not yet. Here are six reasons why I hate these Twins:

MLB Expert Baseball Handicapping: Reasons for San Francisco Giants Struggles
by Trevor Whenham - 6/13/2017

The biggest thing the San Francisco Giants have had going for them lately is that no one in the Bay area has cared about them at all up to this point. The Warriors have been making their run, and that's far more compelling than early-season baseball in a long season. The NBA season has ended, though, so once the victory parade is over the focus can return to the Giants - and it won't be a pretty sight. This is a really, really bad team right now. And the big problem is that this snuck up on people.

Free MLB Picks: Best Props Odds for 6/13/2017 with Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 6/13/2017

The Major League Baseball draft got underway yesterday, and I would fathom a guess that not many people knew about it. Out of the four major sports in North America, the MLB is the only draft that doesn't have extensive draft coverage, millions of mock drafts and/or a live show that draws a massive crowds and revenue. It is also the only draft that takes place during the season, which I've always found to be very strange. I figure now would be a great time to recap some of the first-round selections and give you an idea of who and what to expect possibly later in the year (when your team is completely out of the playoff race) or in next year's spring training.

MLB Wagering Advice: Big-Name Pitchers that are Draining Betting Bankrolls
by Trevor Whenham - 6/12/2017

You can never make the mistake of betting on pitchers based on their name or reputation. Far too often, guys who should be pitching well are instead burning the money of bettors who back them. This list of guys are among the pitchers who are most guilty this season of doing less than expected and causing issues for people who aren't paying close enough attention to who the players really are - not what they used to be. Here are the most obvious underperforming big names through 60ish games this season: