Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, April 22, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/21/2016

Here's guessing that Mets third baseman David Wright can't wait to get to the plate on Friday in Atlanta after Thursday's day off. Wright no doubt would like to get the sour taste out of his mouth from Wednesday in Philadelphia when he had perhaps the worst game of his career at the plate. Wright was 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. He missed on 10 of his 12 total swings. Entering the game, his previous high miss percentage in a game dating to the start of the 2015 season was just 45.5 percent. Wright hadn't struck out more than twice in a game this season.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Thursday April 21, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 4/21/2016

My Tuesday card harped loudly in favor of the LA Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves game. I suggested there would be fireworks and that one team would crush the other. One pitching change later and the total soared over the number, as I expected, but I still split my props for that game.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, April 21, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/20/2016

If the Cincinnati Reds have a lead in the top of the ninth inning of Thursday's home series opener against the Chicago Cubs, it's not clear who might close things out. Cincy's closer has been J.J. Hoover, but he nearly blew a lead in the ninth inning Tuesday against Colorado, allowing a two-run home run to inflate his ERA to 15.19. Hoover has a WHIP of 2.25 and is giving up five home runs per nine innings. He has walked as many as he's struck out.

Baseball Betting and Handicapping: Best and Worst MLB Bullpens
by Trevor Whenham - 4/20/2016

Starting pitchers get the bulk of attention from bettors - and deservedly so. The bullpen, though, is where the souls and wallets of bettors can be crushed or where seemingly hopeless situations can suddenly become profitable ones. A lot of casual bettors make the mistake of not paying enough attention to bullpens when making their betting decisions - and it can come back to haunt them.

MLB Betting Trends: Best Over and Under Bets for Wagering
by Victor Ryan - 4/20/2016

There were a quartet of MLB teams that crushed the "over" last week, but league-wide the "under" had a profitable strike rate of 56% (52-41). Cold weather tends to put a damper on offense, and there's been plenty of that the first two weeks of the campaign. For the season, the "under" is 104-92 (53.1%). All statistics and betting information below are through Tuesday's games.

MLB Wagering Advice and Handicapping: Under-the-Radar Pitchers
by Trevor Whenham - 4/20/2016

Going into every baseball season most bettors have a list - either formally or just loosely in their minds - of some guys they expect to pitch well and deliver value and others they don't expect much from. Making those lists is an inexact science, so inevitably there will be guys every year who were on the wrong list - or who were on no list and should obviously, in hindsight, have been.

MLB Betting Advice and Handicapping: Disappointing Starting Pitchers
by Trevor Whenham - 4/20/2016

Every year I tend to set expectations in my mind for what I expect for a wide range of starting pitchers in baseball - from the true greats to guys I just like betting on or against. Inevitably, several of those guys disappoint me each year by failing to reach up to those expectations. It's early this year, so we can't yet judge what kind of a season guys are really going to have.

MLB Handicapping: How to Judge Former Relievers Added to Rotation
by Trevor Whenham - 4/20/2016

Every year in April we see the kind of thing in baseball that almost always makes my head hurt - or at least has the very strong potential to. Guys who were in the bullpen the previous year are now members of the rotation to start the new season. Sometimes these moves make a big impact. Sometimes they fail miserably. Most often things fall somewhere in between.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/19/2016

The Baltimore Orioles have been a nice early-season surprise, but I don't believe they have the starting pitching to stay atop the AL East, no matter how much they mash. Thus it seems like a wise gamble to sign free-agent right-hander Kyle Lohse, who is likely to agree to terms soon with the Birds. Lohse was pretty bad last year in Milwaukee with a 5.58 ERA but he was a very good pitcher from 2011-14 and is definitely worth a shot.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Baseball Wagers
by Victor Ryan - 4/19/2016

The National League West features prominently in this week's look at the hottest and coldest bets in sports. The Colorado Rockies were a monster winner for bettors last week, while the bumbling Padres entered the realm of the costliest bets in Major League Baseball. It's still early and there's much to be revealed, but here's a look at the trending teams in MLB.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Tuesday April 19, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 4/19/2016

I feel as if I belong in the American League East right now. I am sitting at 6-6 on my prop selections this season and am feeling a bit down about my mediocre .500 mark. Despite all that, I would consider myself an optimist. Heading into the weekend with a 2-1 finish and making a little bit of money could be the start of an epic run. At least, that's what I hope is in the forecast.

MLB Handicapping: White Sox Off To A Surprise Start
by Robert Ferringo - 4/18/2016

But the "other" team in Second City, the White Sox, have quietly gotten off to a strong start of their own. The White Sox are 8-4 and currently tied for first place in the American League Central. Granted, it is early; way too early to jump to any solid conclusions over what this season will hold. But the more I look at this White Sox team the more I think that Chicago could be the epicenter of the baseball world this summer.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday, April 19, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/18/2016

If I'm a non-AL East team playing the New York Yankees in April and getting them out of the way for at least a series, then I'm thankful. That's because that New York bullpen is going to be ridiculous once lefty Aroldis Chapman comes off suspension early next month. It's already filthy with right-hander Dellin Betances and lefty Andrew Miller.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday, April 16, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/15/2016

The Reds look like they have a nice rotation piece going forward in young left-hander Brandon Finnegan (0-0, 2.84), who was part of last year's Johnny Cueto trade with Kansas City. The Chicago Cubs are crushing people in the young season but Finnegan no-hit them for 6.2 innings on Monday, but the bullpen then let both of Finnegan's inherited runners score after he lost the no-hitter and the Cubs would win.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday, April 15, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/14/2016

April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball as on April 15, 1947, Robinson broke the color line in baseball when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's a great day and well-deserved, no question, but it's sure hard on those amateur scorekeepers at games because all players will wear No. 42. No future big-leaguer will ever wear that number again every day; the last to do so was former Yankees Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, who will join Robinson in the Hall of Fame in 2019.

MLB Betting Advice and Handicapping: Lessons Learned First Week
by Trevor Whenham - 4/14/2016

Depending on the team, we are between six and 10 games into the baseball season. It's amazing when you think about how insignificant that really is in the face of the endless regular season - several teams aren't even five percent of the way through their season. It's very, very early, but it is never too early to look at what has happened and what we have learned so far.

Free MLB Picks for Best Props Odds: Thursday April 14, 2016
by Chris Vasile - 4/14/2016

Thursday's MLB slate is a getaway day type schedule with several afternoon games that I had no interest in incorporating into this article. There are five games to cap off the night heading into the weekend, and I don't want to jinx myself by saying I love the board, but I'm not uncertain about my picks.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday, April 14, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/13/2016

It's a big getaway day on Thursday around the majors with a handful of matinees, so you might see regulars all over baseball out of the starting lineup after playing at night on Wednesday. I have a feeling the Detroit Tigers aren't big fans of interleague baseball right now as they will play a sixth total game already against a National League team on Thursday and fourth in the NL park, meaning the Tigers have to sit one of their big bats in DH Victor Martinez when that happens because he's not healthy enough to play in the field.

MLB Betting Trends: Hot and Cold Over and Under Teams for Baseball Wagering
by Victor Ryan - 4/13/2016

For those Major League Baseball total bettors out there, this is for you. Each week throughout the season, Doc Sport's will provide a breakdown of over/under trends throughout baseball. Which teams are trending to the "over" and which teams the "under"? As the cliché goes, hitting is contagious. A team can struggle to score runs for a week then break out with an offensive explosion. Identifying these emerging streaks can go a long way for total bettors.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday, April 13, 2016, Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 4/12/2016

I used to be a newspaper guy, so I have an affinity for newspapers even though I barely read them any longer. I always wanted to work at one of those New York tabloids just for a week or something so I could have fun with some of those crazy headlines they write. You might think it's easy to come up with that stuff, but it's really not. I bring this up because the tabloids are already in full panic mode over the early struggles of the New York Mets.