Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, June 29, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/28/2016

My spring training pick for National League MVP this season was Cubs second-year player Kris Bryant. I'm feeling pretty good about his chances now. The 2015 NL Rookie of the Year had a night for the ages in Monday's win in Cincinnati. He became the first batter in baseball's modern era (since 1900) with three homers and two doubles in one game. Bryant, 24, also is the youngest Cub ever with a three-homer game; he was 10 days younger than when Mr. Cub and Hall of Famer Ernie Banks did it in 1955.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday June 28, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 6/28/2016

With less than two weeks before the all-star break, this is a crucial stretch of the schedule for any team looking to get back in the pennant race. There are only two divisions as of today that have a team leading their division by double-digits.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, June 28, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/27/2016

So how worried should the Nationals be now that $175 million man Stephen Strasburg, who already has had one Tommy John surgery, is back on the disabled list? At least this one isn't an arm problem but an upper back strain. It forced Strasburg to be scratched from last Monday's scheduled start vs. the Dodgers and then Sunday's outing vs. Milwaukee. The team placed him on the DL on Sunday, retroactive to June 16.

MLB Handicapping: Chicago Cubs Seem to Have Date with Destiny
by Trevor Whenham - 6/24/2016

The Cubs have had an exceptional season so far. The oddsmakers and bettors are definitely buying into what they are doing - at +300 at BetOnline to win the World Series they are the heavy favorites and well ahead of second choice Texas at +650. The basics of what is happening are clear - they have good players who score a lot of runs and good pitchers who are pitching very well.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 6/24/2016

A virtually flawless performance from its bullpen last week has the Texas Rangers increasingly looking like the best team in the American League. Conversely, the Red Sox could be in the market for a new set-up man after another shaky week from its 'pen. Here is this week's look at the hottest and coldest bullpens in MLB.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Over and Under Teams for Baseball Wagering
by Aaron Smith - 6/24/2016

Does the fact that the San Francisco Giants seem to just win World Series titles on even years make any real sense? No, but it's important to note that while the Giants have received much less publicity, they actually have just as many wins (47) as the Chicago Cubs. The best record in the American League belongs to the Texas Rangers, and they have just as many wins as the Cubs and Giants, too.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, June 25, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/24/2016

Entering the weekend, the Texas Rangers have a 10-game lead in the AL West Division and are -700 to repeat. But I'd now be a bit concerned about that wager. For one, 60 percent of the Rangers' rotation is on the DL in Yu Darvish, Colby Lewis and Derek Holland. While Darvish is expected back soon, you still never know how a guy will respond to Tommy John surgery, and he lasted only three starts off that. Lewis and Holland landed on the DL this week, with Lewis expected to miss two months due to a strained lat muscle in his pitching shoulder.

MLB Handicapping: Texas Rangers even Better than Last Season
by Trevor Whenham - 6/24/2016

Last year the Texas Rangers were a real surprise as they won the AL West. It wasn't easy, though - they came out on top by only two games. This year the expectations were high - win totals indicated that they should be able to at least match last year's effort. Well, so far they have not only matched what came before but moved to a whole new level. They have the second-best record in all of baseball and a massive 10-game lead in their division.

MLB Handicapping: Cleveland Indians Surpassing Expectations at Betting Window
by Trevor Whenham - 6/24/2016

I will fully admit that I was skeptical about the Cleveland Indians coming into this season. The first season win total I saw was 84. Even at my most optimistic the best I could convince myself to do was pass on them at that number. I couldn't convince myself that the "over" was a good idea at all. It's still early, but they are certainly working to make me look silly. As I write they already have 41 wins and just 30 losses. That puts them on pace for 94 wins - and a playoff spot as a division winner to boot.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, June 24, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/23/2016

I don't like leading this story with the same team two days in a row, but you have to go where the news is. And again concerning injuries, it's with the Mets. Wednesday was nearly a title-ending disaster for the defending NL champions. Both Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes, the team's best pitcher and hitter, respectively, left that night's game vs. the Royals with injury concerns. It appears neither is serious, however.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 6/23/2016

It was a rather streaky week in Major League Baseball. The Indians, Dodgers and Giants were a combined 17-1, and that resulted in a healthy profit of 14.8 units for their backers. Meanwhile, it could be a Top Ramen week for supporters of the Rays, Pirates and Nationals. They went a combined 3-18 with losses of 17.8 units.

MLB Division Leaders: Handicapping, Analysis and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/23/2016

It's now officially summer. That means that we are about to enter the dog days of summer in the baseball season. We are far enough into the season that the standings mean something. The teams leading the way now almost surely won't all be doing so by the end of September, but the cream is starting to rise to the top. It's a good time to take a step back and look at the six division leaders - where are they at now, can they stay there, and what does it mean for bettors?

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Thursday June 23, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 6/23/2016

What a great time to be a Cleveland sports fan! The Cavaliers were able to defy all odds and bring the city its first championship since 1964 and the celebration that occurred Wednesday saw approximately 1.3 million people line the streets just to get a glimpse of their heroes. Not too shabby.

MLB Betting Advice: Big-Name Pitchers that Haven't Delivered
by Trevor Whenham - 6/22/2016

Aces are supposed to deliver a lot of wins and strong profits for their backers at the same time. This year guys like Stephen Strasburg, Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto, Chris Sale, Jake Arrieta and Madison Bumgarner are doing exactly what is expected - they are winning lots of games, and all are among the Top 11 in moneyline profits in the league so far.

MLB Wagering Advice and Handicapping: Under-the-Radar Pitchers that Profit
by Trevor Whenham - 6/22/2016

We are far enough into the baseball season by now that we can start to draw some conclusions based on what we have seen. Sample sizes are large enough that the betting performances of pitchers so far have at least some meaning. Some of the names at the top of the list in terms of profit generating this year are far from surprising - Strasburg, Kershaw, Cueto, Sale, Arrieta. There isn't a lot of value in betting on a player like that in most situations.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, June 23, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/22/2016

Tuesday was another rough day for the injury-ravaged Mets -- although it could have been worse. First, current starting pitcher Bartolo Colon, my pick for the "Most Interesting Man in Baseball," had to leave his start against the Royals very early after taking a comebacker off his pitching hand. The good news was that X-rays were negative, but he might still miss a start. The not-so-great news was the Mets announcing that former very promising starting pitcher Zack Wheeler, a potential trade chip, had been shut down from his Tommy John surgery rehab due to discomfort in his right elbow.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, June 22, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/21/2016

No major American sport seems to have more of a love affair with statistics. Just about every day, you hear some random stat that has never happened before in MLB. That was the case on Monday night when the Colorado Rockies won 5-3 in Miami. All eight runs in the game were from solo homers. That's an MLB record for most runs in a game via a solo dinger. The previous mark was five, completed seven times.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday June 21, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 6/21/2016

Like much of the baseball world, I was excited to watch a great pitching duel last night between Stephen Strasburg and Clayton Kershaw. Instead, the Nationals scratched Strasburg and claimed he was suffering from a "back strain". This decision has come under some suspicion that it was to keep his perfect record intact for another five days.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, June 21, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/20/2016

Could Cleveland actually become Titletown USA this year? I can't say I thought the Cavaliers would beat the record-setting Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals after trailing 3-1, but they completed the stunning comeback Sunday in a very memorable game. I'm happy for the fans of that city as it was the first championship in the four major pro sports for a Cleveland team since 1964 (and, yes, there was briefly an NHL team in the city).

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, June 18, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 6/17/2016

Pretty significant injury on Thursday night for the Detroit Tigers, although things could have been much worse. Outfielder J.D. Martinez, one of the best bargains in baseball with a $3 million salary this season, collided with the wall in Kansas City while attempting to make a play on Paulo Orlando's triple in the bottom of the second inning. Martinez braced himself with his right arm but was injured and later diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the radial neck of his right elbow. At first, the worries were that could be season-ending.