Baseball Handicapping Articles

Free MLB Picks: Best Props Odds for Friday with Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 5/26/2017

I'm sure by now you've all seen the footage of the "Gordie-go-hard" security guard at SunTrust Park in Atlanta taking away a baseball from a little kid. If you haven't, check it out. I understand that part of his job calls for him to keep the fans in line and prevent them from getting too rowdy and/or disrupting the actual game. However, I also thought common sense was a requirement in order to get said job.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Friday, May 26, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/25/2017

Allow me to look ahead to a game Sunday in this space because I don't write Saturday for Sunday, and I don't want to forget an interesting statistic. The Washington Nationals are scheduled to start Joe Ross on Sunday at home against the San Diego Padres. I recommend backing the Nats (no big surprise vs. the Friars) and the over. Why? Ross has made four starts this season and the Nationals have scored 14, 15, 23 and 10 runs in those games for a total of 62, an average of 15.5 per start.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Thursday, May 25, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/24/2017

The Texas Rangers' recent surge to get back above .500 was nice, but I believe that was fool's gold. Most of the team's success came against dregs of MLB like Oakland, San Diego and Philadelphia. No AL team has had a softer schedule to this point in the season than Texas, which only has one other good team in its own division (Houston) and finally played an AL East club this week in the Red Sox. The Rangers' only interleague matchups have come against the aforementioned Padres and Phillies.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Wednesday, May 24, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/23/2017

You had a fine career David Wright, but it's time to walk away for good. The Mets' third baseman and former captain (I guess he technically still is) has been sidelined since last May with a cervical disc herniation and, most recently, a shoulder impingement. He had to be shut down from his throwing program last week and now it sure seems like Wright is done. There was a time there that Wright was arguably just as popular in New York as Derek Jeter was and Wright put up better numbers for a handful of years than Jeter did.

Free MLB Picks: Best Props Odds for Tuesday with Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 5/23/2017

As we approach the two-month mark of the MLB season, I thought it would be an appropriate time to give you an abbreviated version (Top 5) of my power rankings heading into this week of action. I don't follow a certain formula or live and die by the numbers when putting together this list. Instead, I focus on what I see with my own eyes. Many people just scan the box score and are quick to jump to conclusions. However, there are many intangibles that the box score doesn't account for. That's where watching and understanding how the game is played comes into play. Heading into this week's action, my Top 5 teams are as follows: No. 1 Houston Astros, No. 2 Washington Nationals, No. 3 Colorado Rockies, No. 4 Texas Rangers and No. 5 Arizona Diamondbacks.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Tuesday, May 23, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/22/2017

We've had our first notable trade of the 2017 season as the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend sent first baseman/outfielder Matt Adams to Atlanta for a prospect and cash considerations. The Braves were in need of a power bat at first base with Freddie Freeman out 10 weeks or more with a fractured wrist. Adams lost his first base job with the Cardinals to Matt Carpenter. The team tried him a bit in the outfield, but Adams is a disaster defensively out there. I'm not sure what the Braves will do with him when Freeman returns.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Saturday, May 20, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/19/2017

The Atlanta Braves aren't a particularly good team and there were never any expectations that they would compete for a playoff spot in 2017, their first year in their new ballpark. The target was always 2018. That said, Atlanta had overachieved a bit thus far, but I'd start fading the Braves now that first baseman Freddie Freeman will miss 10 weeks with a non-displaced left wrist fracture. Freeman left Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays after being struck on his wrist by a pitch from Aaron Loup in the fifth inning.

MLB Betting Trends: Totals Report for Hot Over and Under Baseball Teams
by Aaron Smith - 5/19/2017

Not long ago, the Cincinnati Reds were in first place in the NL Central. Now they are losers of six straight games. It's the very surprising Milwaukee Brewers in the top spot right now. Who would have thought in a division with the Cubs and the Cardinals that the Brewers would be in first place after having played 42 games? Texas has won nine straight after a slow start to the season, and it will be interesting to see how the Rangers do on their road trip where they will play at Detroit, at Boston, and at Toronto.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Friday, May 19, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/18/2017

Boston gave up a lot in prospects to acquire lefty Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox this past offseason, but the Red Sox are thrilled so far with the trade. All eyes in baseball will be on Sale on Friday night as he brings a streak of seven straight double-digit strikeout starts into Oakland. The record is eight consecutive, held by Sale (2015) and former Red Sox star and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. They are the only guys with two streaks of at least seven straight.

Free MLB Picks: Best Props Odds for Thursday with Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 5/18/2017

The MLB season is nearly two months old and I thought now would be a great time to bring back the MLB Props article for reading consumption. Let's face it, we've all heard about how tough the first month or so of the season is to handicap and how "experts" are always preaching patience. Now that we are set to hit the two-month mark, teams are starting to take shape, and as handicappers we should be seeing trends and patterns that could help us profit.

MLB Handicapping: Which Baseball Teams Have no Hope?
by Trevor Whenham - 5/17/2017

Things have changed at the bottom of baseball's standings in the last week or two. Teams like Toronto, San Francisco and Kansas City came into the season as potential contenders, but they started out playing just horrible ball. All of those teams are still in holes they likely can't climb out of this year, but the Giants have won five straight, the Royals have won six of 10, and the Blue Jays have seven wins in their last 10.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Thursday, May 18, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/17/2017

We are reaching the time of the year when teams can call up top prospects and not worry about future service time regarding free agency and arbitration. I'm definitely not going into how all that works because I don't really understand it, but the Cleveland Indians called up one of their top prospects Tuesday in outfielder Bradley Zimmer. The Tribe needed someone out there with Abraham Almonte just landing on the 10-day disabled list because of a right biceps strain. Fellow outfielders Brandon Guyer and Austin Jackson are also on the DL.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Wednesday, May 17, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/16/2017

This past winter, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said his team would chase a big-money free-agent closer but only to a point. He wasn't going to go out and break the bank and give six years to a guy who pitches maybe 3-4 innings a week. Perhaps Cashman should have listened to himself instead of giving Aroldis Chapman a five-year, $86 million deal. You almost had to figure with how hard that Chapman throws that arm trouble was coming. It has. He was placed on the disabled list Sunday with rotator cuff inflammation and won't be back for at least a month.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Tuesday, May 16, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/15/2017

Interesting decision over the weekend by the Washington Nationals, who signed Bryce Harper to a contract worth $21.625 million for the 2018 season. I would think the MLB Players' Association might be a bit unhappy with that because it eliminated the need for arbitration. Harper would have gotten easily the highest arbitration award ever, and the MLBPA is all about raising the salary bar. Harper still gets the highest salary for an arbitration-eligible player in major league history, so he won't exactly be struggling to make ends meet. Does this make Washington more likely to re-sign Harper when he hits free agency after next season?

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Saturday, May 13, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/12/2017

I don't write for Doc's on Saturdays, so I want to touch on the Sunday night ESPN MLB game in this space because it will be a big night at Yankee Stadium with the Bombers retiring the No. 2 of shortstop and former captain Derek Jeter. I tend to think he was a bit overrated simply because he played for the Yankees and was a media darling in the media capital of the world. But there's no question that Jeter is a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer and could be the first player to receive 100 percent of the vote if former teammate Mariano Rivera doesn't beat him to that.

MLB Betting Advice and Handicapping: Can Texas Rangers Rebound After Slow Start?
by Trevor Whenham - 5/12/2017

Things have not gone according to plan for the Texas Rangers so far this season. They were supposed to be the team that gave the Astros the biggest challenge in the AL West. Instead, they are at 16-20 and sit dead last in the division. They are playing better lately, with five wins in their last eight, but they still have a long way to go to salvage this season - and it is no guarantee that they can do so. So, how do bettors deal with this team? Here are five factors to consider:

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Friday, May 12, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/11/2017

While I think that the Cleveland Indians will win the AL Central regardless, they might regret not putting a little more distance between themselves and the Detroit Tigers by Friday. That's because Detroit is likely to activate one of the better offensive players in the American League in outfielder J.D. Martinez. He suffered a Lisfranc injury in spring training but has been down in minor-league rehab and should be in the lineup Friday barring a setback. Martinez was a breakout star in 2015 in hitting 38 homers with 102 RBIs.

Expert MLB Handicapping and Betting Advice: Can Yankees Sustain Hot Start?
by Trevor Whenham - 5/11/2017

At 21-10 the New York Yankees have, as I write this, the best winning percentage in all of baseball. I would be lying if I said I saw that coming. In fact, I was openly and aggressively down on this team heading into the year. In a division in which the Red Sox have disappointed and the Blue Jays have been a disaster, the Yankees are taking care of business. We are not quite even a fifth of the way through the regular season, though, so as impressive as the start has been it doesn't really mean anything.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Thursday, May 11, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/10/2017

A little more than three weeks ago, Major League Baseball announced that Pittsburgh's best all-around position player, Gold Glove outfielder Starling Marte, was suspended 80 games for PED use. I wrote then that the Bucs were pretty much toast for the 2017 playoffs, and I stick with that with the team in last place in the NL Central. Unfortunately, the Bucs have gotten another gut-punch for their season as young pitcher Jameson Taillon, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft and a future ace, was revealed to have had surgery for suspected testicular cancer on Monday.

Five to Follow Expert MLB Betting Picks: Wednesday, May 10, 2017, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/9/2017

A handful of teams have made changes at closer already this season either due to injury or ineffectiveness, and it sounds as if the Detroit Tigers might be joining that group. Francisco Rodriguez blew save opportunities on both Saturday and Sunday in Oakland, with the Tigers losing both games instead of sweeping like they should have. Brad Ausmus didn't exactly give K-Rod a ringing endorsement after Sunday. Rodriguez's struggles contrast with the rest of the bullpen, which hasn't allowed a run in the last seven games.