Baseball Handicapping Articles

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday July 19, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 7/19/2016

Tuesday's MLB card offers up a full slate of games after last night's slim pickings. The game everyone will be keeping an eye on is at Wrigley Field between the Mets and Cubs. This matchup features two of the games best pitchers squaring off in Noah Syndergaard and Jake Arrieta.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, July 20, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/19/2016

The Aug. 1 trade deadline - it was moved off July 31 this year because that's a Sunday - is rapidly approaching and a new, interesting name has apparently been made available: Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. The Cuban has superstar potential but apparently is a bit of a diva and isn't having a great season, batting .257 with seven homers and 31 RBIs entering Tuesday.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, July 19, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/19/2016

Atlanta's Fredi Gonzalez was the first manager fired in Major League Baseball this season. Could Minnesota's Paul Molitor be next? That question has to be asked as the Twins are a disastrous 33-58, the second-worst record in the majors. They expected to contend this season in the AL Central after staying in the wild-card race until the end last year in Molitor's first season. One domino already has fallen in the Twin Cities as long-time General Manager Terry Ryan was axed on Monday.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, July 15, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/14/2016

The second half of the season begins with a matinee from Wrigley -- televised by the MLB Network -- in a potential World Series preview with the Cubs as NL pennant favorites and the Rangers behind only the Indians on the AL odds. The big question here is whether the struggling Cubs will get back leadoff man and center fielder Dexter Fowler from his hamstring injury.

American League Updated Futures Odds at All-Star Break
by Alan Matthews - 7/13/2016

How great for Major League Baseball would a Cubs-Indians World Series be? It's the two most historically downtrodden franchises in the game. I looked at updated BetOnline futures for the National League yesterday here at Doc's, and the Cubs remain favorites in the Senior Circuit. The Tribe, meanwhile, are the +275 favorites to win the AL pennant. The AL will have home-field advantage again in the World Series as well after taking Tuesday's All-Star Game.

National League Updated Futures Odds at All-Star Break
by Alan Matthews - 7/12/2016

Is it time to worry about the Chicago Cubs? They have been World Series favorites all season and remain so at +375 at BetOnline, but their gap over teams like the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers is narrowing.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, July 8, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/8/2016

Really bad news for the Cardinals on Wednesday night as All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter suffered a right oblique strain on a check swing in the third inning against Pittsburgh. There's no word as of now how severe it is, but these usually take a minimum of four weeks to fully heal. Carpenter, who has officially been put on the DL, is hitting .298 with 25 doubles, five triples, 14 homers, 53 RBIs (team best, which is amazing for a leadoff guy) and 56 runs this season.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, July 6, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/5/2016

So how desperate are Cubs fans to win the World Series? The All-Star Game is next Tuesday in San Diego, and the rosters were to be unveiled this Tuesday night. The managers are Ned Yost of the Royals and Terry Collins of the Mets. But I mention the Cubs fans for two reasons. For one, they are stuffing the ballot box. The entire Chicago infield of first baseman Anthony Rizzo, second baseman Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell and third baseman Kris Bryant are expected to be voted starters.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday July 5, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 7/5/2016

We are in the last full week of baseball before the all-star break, and everyone must be wary of teams that are mailing it in a day or two early. Since every team is represented in the mid-summer classic, teams well below .500 and essentially out of the playoff race will welcome the time off to get away from the ballpark and focus on other things aside from losing.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, July 5, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/4/2016

After being swept four games over the weekend at the New York Mets, are the Chicago Cubs still the best team in baseball? Once healthy, I would say yes, although they clearly need bullpen help. Apparently the Cubs won't be trading for the Yankees' Andrew Miller as the Bombers have told Miller they are keeping him. They didn't say the same thing to closer Aroldis Chapman. Chicago also needs to get center fielder and leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler back off the DL. They are 5-9 entering Monday since he landed on the DL. BetOnline still has the Cubs as the World Series favorites at +340. The Giants are next at +650.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, July 2, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 7/1/2016

I don't generally write Saturday for Sunday for Doc's, but I want to point out this week's ESPN Sunday night game because it's pretty cool. The Miami Marlins will face the Atlanta Braves at Fort Bragg, the venerable military installation in North Carolina. It's the first regular-season game of a professional sport ever played on an active military base. Of course, Monday is July 4, and this is a way to honor servicemen and women by Major League Baseball.

MLB Betting Advice and Handicapping: Best and Worst Profit Starting Pitchers
by Victor Ryan - 7/1/2016

As the calendar flips to July, it's time for Doc's Sports monthly report on the most profitable starting pitchers in MLB as well as those hurlers that have been the biggest money pits for bettors. Some of the value may have already been wagered out of these players but there are some that should hold betting value all season long.

MLB Betting Advice: Best and Worst Teams to Wager on Thus Far
by Victor Ryan - 7/1/2016

Every team in MLB will have completed half its schedule by the end of the weekend. This is a good time to take stock on which have been the most- and least-profitable teams to bet through the first three months of the season.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, July 1, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/30/2016

I've been previewing the starts of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw all season. He was scheduled to start Friday at home against Colorado but now won't. Kershaw (11-2, 1.79) wasn't sharp in his last outing, allowing four runs and nine hits over six innings in a loss in Pittsburgh. Afterward, it was revealed that Kershaw was having lower-back stiffness.

MLB Handicapping: San Francisco Giants Getting Job Done at Betting Window
by Trevor Whenham - 6/30/2016

The Giants were expected to be good. They had the highest season win total when those numbers were first posted before the season. They certainly have not disappointed. Only the Cubs have a better record in the National League, and the Giants have a comfortable six-game lead in the NL West. It has been a solid season - both on the field and at the betting window.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Thursday June 30, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 6/30/2016

I hate to admit it, but the MLB is getting harder and harder to handicap. If it's not one thing, it's another. For example, a starting pitcher barely getting out of the first inning in one piece (hi, Tom Koehler) or an epic collapse in the ninth inning up by four runs (thanks for nothing Texas and Sam Dyson). Pitching staffs these days are built to shorten the game and get into the bullpen where the setup man's setup man sets things up for the closer.

MLB Handicapping: Reasons for New York Yankees Struggles
by Trevor Whenham - 6/29/2016

The Yankees have, for a long time, been the definition of a successful franchise. You can love them or hate them - and they have been very easy to hate - but you have to have at least begrudging respect for them. They've been fueled by endless buckets of money, but they had turned that cash into success.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, June 30, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/29/2016

A lost season for the Arizona Diamondbacks might have officially ended on Tuesday night when ace pitcher Zack Greinke left his start after only two innings with tightness in his oblique. Sure, it might be nothing. But oblique injuries also can take several weeks to heal -- especially for a pitcher. Greinke said he thought he hurt himself while driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning of Arizona's 4-3 loss to the Phillies.

MLB Handicapping: How to Bet Teams with Nothing to Play For
by Trevor Whenham - 6/29/2016

The Major League Baseball season isn't even half over yet. All-star voting is still open. Yet, for several teams the season is already over. Heck, for some teams the season was over in April. It has to be soul crushing for both players and fans to be playing out the string as the summer is just getting started.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 6/29/2016

In the American League, the Houston Astros (41-37) have righted the ship after being the biggest disappointment in MLB the first two months of the season. Houston has gone 11-2 in their previous 13 games to move just a half-game out of the second wild-card slot. Meanwhile in the senior circuit, Don Mattingley's Miami Marlins (41-36) have rattled off four straight series wins to move a half-game in front of the Cardinals for the second wild card.