Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, May 20, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/19/2016

The Texas Rangers are the latest team to make a change at closer as struggling Shawn Tolleson has been replaced by Sam Dyson. Tolleson suffered his fourth blown save Tuesday, and third in the past five appearances, allowing a walk-off grand slam to Oakland's Khris Davis with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Tolleson had 35 saves in 37 chances last season. He has 11 saves in 15 chances this season.

Expert MLB Betting Advice: Weekly Baseball Bullpen Report
by Victor Ryan - 5/18/2016

Relief pitching has never been more important than in this era of pitch counts and "protecting" prized starting pitchers. But the performance of a team's bullpen will ebb and flow throughout the season. Don't worry baseball bettors, Doc's Sports has you covered. Each week in this space we identify the best and worst bullpens of the previous seven days and what that could portend moving forward. Let's get started.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, May 19, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/18/2016

The first managerial domino has fallen in Major League Baseball, and not surprisingly it was the worst team in the majors, the Atlanta Braves, dumping Manager Fredi Gonzalez. This had been rumored coming for a while. There was never any chance of Gonzalez following the team to its new Cobb County stadium next season. Not sure what the point of firing him now is and installing Triple-A manager Brian Snitker as the interim guy. Why not leave Snitker there and wait until after this lost season to hire your full-time choice? But what do I know?

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Wednesday May 18, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 5/18/2016

The last time I posted an MLB free props picks article, I was able to provide our readers with a clean sweep of my plays. That was Tuesday, May 10. I am on a 5-1 run with my best MLB props and am looking forward to continuing the momentum into Wednesday's card. But first, what a crazy week it's been in the majors.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, May 18, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/17/2016

The Chicago Cubs have built their young powerhouse team around hitting. The New York Mets have built their young powerhouse team around pitching. The one worry with doing it that way is that pitchers are so much more likely to suffer major arm/shoulder injuries that can cost them at least a season. For the most part, everyday players don't suffer those types of career-threatening injuries. I mention this because the Mets apparently avoided disaster on young lefty Steven Matz.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 5/17/2016

This week's look at the hottest and coldest bets in baseball has a decided northeast flavor. Both New York clubs are featured, albeit at opposite ends of the spectrum, while a massive week by the hard-hitting Red Sox turned them into the most profitable bet in baseball over the last seven days. Let's get started.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/16/2016

So, I went to a baseball game and a hockey fight broke out! OK, I wasn't in attendance in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday but wow what a brawl between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers. I'm sure by now you have seen dozens of times on replay the right cross that Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor landed to the jaw of Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista. Texas pitcher Matt Bush had plunked Bautista, clearly as retaliation for Bautista's bat flip following his go-ahead homer in Game 5 of last year's ALDS vs. Texas.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, May 14, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/13/2016

Maybe I'll actually recommend backing the Atlanta Braves over the next 10 days because they are away from Turner Field until May 24. Why? The Braves are an absurd 2-17 at home. Their 1-16 start at home was the worst in the majors since the 1913 Yankees lost their first 17 decisions. If you are wondering, and I was, the modern record for worst home winning percentage is held by the 1939 St. Louis Browns, who went 18-59 (.234) at Sportsman's Park.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, May 13, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/12/2016

Quite a night for two pitchers in the National League on Wednesday for very different reasons. Washington's Max Scherzer became the fourth pitcher (Roger Clemens twice, Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson) in MLB history to strike out 20 batters in a game, doing it against his former Detroit Tigers teammates. Scherzer had a chance to break the record with two outs in the ninth and against light-hitting Tigers catcher James McCann, who had struck out three times already on just 10 pitches, at the plate, but McCann was able to ground out.

MLB Handicapping: Money Doesn't Buy Happiness - or Success - for Dodgers
by Trevor Whenham - 5/11/2016

Money just doesn't buy what it used to anymore. The Los Angeles Dodgers have more than $245 million in salary commitments for 2016, which is the highest in the league - $18 million more than the chronically overpaid Yankees and nearly four times as much as the lowest payrolls in the league. Despite that massive spending, they are limping along at just 16-16. Now, that's good enough for a tie for first in the pathetic NL West right now, but it's a long way from acceptable in the bigger picture.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, May 12, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/11/2016

I'm sure by now you have seen the best highlight of the season in baseball. And of course that was the first career home run of pudgy Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon on Saturday in San Diego. At 42, the career .092 hitter became the oldest player in history to hit his first career homer. And it took him forever to get around the bases. Watching that and hearing the Mets' game call were absolutely hysterical, and I'm not even a Mets fan. I highly recommend you YouTube that and the Spanish-language call of the moment.

MLB Betting: Diamondbacks Falling Well Below Expectations
by Trevor Whenham - 5/11/2016

There was a whole lot of optimism in Arizona this offseason. After winning just 64 games two seasons back they climbed all the way to 79 last year, and they had a very strong offseason. The season win total was set at 84.5 this year, and it seemed reasonable to believe that there was value in the "over".

MLB Handicapping and Betting Advice: Fading Older Pitchers
by Robert Ferringo - 5/10/2016

Baseball is a game of inertia. It is habit and routine, followed by more habit and routine, as players grind against a relentless 162-game schedule that is equal to playing two full, back-to-back NBA or NHL seasons. The same can be said for baseball bettors, who careful and methodically try to whittle away some profit from the sportsbooks through the amazing amount of baseball games played in a given year.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, May 11, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/10/2016

Pretty shocking news out of Washington, D.C. on Monday night when it was revealed the Nationals and pitcher Stephen Strasburg agreed to a seven-year, $175 million extension with an opt-out clause after three or four years (also some deferred money and potential bonuses). I say this is shocking because Strasburg's agent is Scott Boras and he ALWAYS takes his guys to the market. Strasburg's camp had said they weren't negotiating during this season.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday May 10, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 5/10/2016

Heading into the back-end of last week I was frustrated with my results, so I decided to do what any good handicapper would do: evaluate where I went wrong, make an adjustment and set out to approach the new method with even more hunger and conviction. For myself, it paid off with a winning night on Thursday in hitting two of my three top MLB selections.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, May 10, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 5/9/2016

Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker needs to adjust his lineup. Because clearly Ryan Zimmerman hitting behind Bryce Harper isn't going to work -- at least if other managers around baseball follow the lead of the Cubs' Joe Maddon. On Sunday, Harper set a big-league record by reaching base seven times without an official at-bat.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 5/9/2016

The Chicago Cubs continued their buzzsaw run through the big leagues with a perfect 7-0 week , which saw the betting returns on the North Siders improve to +13.8 units for the season. Meanwhile, a couple of clubs with sub-.500 records on the season managed to turn a rare profit last week that was good enough to put them among the five hottest bets in MLB. At the other end of the spectrum were the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels. They went a combined 1-11 last week and cost bettors 11.2 units.

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

I haven't seen any "first manager to be fired props" at any sportsbooks recently, but it's looking like Atlanta's Fredi Gonzalez will be the first one gone, and it could happen any day. The Braves are truly awful, but didn't they expect this? They have traded off nearly everyone of note the past two years other than Freddie Freeman in an effort to save some money and be competitive starting next year in their new suburban stadium. What's the point of firing Gonzalez now? Why didn't you do it after last year?

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Over and Under Teams for Baseball Wagering
by Aaron Smith - 5/6/2016

We're a little more than a month into the 2016 Major League Baseball season, and the Chicago Cubs are definitely living up to their hype as the best team in baseball. While it is only a month, it still has to be encouraging for Cubs fans who so badly want to see a winner. The Atlanta Braves have the worst record in the majors, which is no surprise. Minnesota having the worst record in the American League has to be considered a bit of a surprise, though.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Friday May 6, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 5/6/2016

Albert Einstein once said "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." As gamblers, I am sure we have all been there before. Asking ourselves why we continuously bet on certain teams in certain situations or on certain players that have never once come through for us when our money was riding squarely on their performance.