Baseball Handicapping Articles

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday September 13, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/12/2014

What a scary sight Thursday night at Miller Park in Milwaukee as Miami Marlins superstar Giancarlo Stanton was hit in the face with a pitch by the Brewers' Mike Fiers (I recommend not watching the video). Stanton was carted off on a stretcher, and that injury surely will end his season and officially hand the NL MVP Award to Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Stanton wasn't the only one plunked on Thursday. Here's a look at five interesting games on Saturday with two other injuries involving HBP.

Tracking the Nationals: Season-Long MLB Picks and Handicapping for Washington Baseball
by Dave Schwab - 9/11/2014

The 2014 MLB Playoff picture is starting to shape, and a team near and dear to my heart this season is right in the thick of things. I have spent the entire MLB regular season strictly handicapping the Washington Nationals as part of a betting strategy that relies heavily on specialization. Using Doc’s Unit Betting System as part of every free pick I make for Washington games, my ultimate goal is to earn a positive return on investment for the year.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday September 12, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/11/2014

Perhaps you are one of those old-school types of people where you believe that MLB should never have added a wild card in each league, much less two. And that's fine. But look at the schedule this third-to-last weekend of the regular season, and nearly every matchup has some sort of playoff significance. I only see three series on the slate that don't: Marlins-Phillies, Twins-White Sox and Padres-Diamondbacks. Here's a look at five interesting matchups on Friday.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday September 11, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/10/2014

We all know there is no crying in baseball -- thank you, "A League of Their Own" -- but there is definitely tanking in baseball. And you are going to start seeing it as teams jockey to finish with one of the 10 worst records to avoid having to cough up a first-round pick to sign a top-tier free agent. Several guys already have been or will be shut down very soon on teams that have no chance at contention and would benefit by losing.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday September 10, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/9/2014

At what point do we start talking about how epic the collapse of the Milwaukee Brewers has been and where that fits in baseball annals? I mean, are we in the ballpark of the 1969 "black cat" Chicago Cubs? The Brew Crew led the NL Central all year but now enter Tuesday having lost 11 of 12. The NL Central rice is probably over, and the team doesn't seem likely to even grab a wild card. Ron Roenicke could go from potential Manager of the Year to unemployment. Stunning.

MLB Wagering Tips: Using Commercial Betting to Find Value
by George Monroy - 9/8/2014

Wouldn’t betting on baseball be much easier if we could place wagers after the games had started? Maybe we’d wait until the favorite grabbed a one-run lead and then bet on the moneyline. Or maybe we’d wait until the third inning to take the “over” on a high-scoring matchup. The options would probably be endless. Well, over the last few years, that is exactly what the online sportsbooks have begun to offer bettors—a chance wager on games after they have already started.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday September 6, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/5/2014

It has been an odd year of MLB firings. On Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks fired general manager Kevin Towers, which really is no surprise with Tony La Russa now running things. Manager Kirk Gibson could be next, but now we have had two general managers fired (also the Padres' Josh Byrnes) compared to just one manager (Houston's Bo Porter). That's unusual. The GMs are the ones who picked the manager (usually) so why keep one and not the other?

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday September 5, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/4/2014

I don't know about you, but I don't believe a starting pitcher should win a league MVP Award because he only goes out there every five days. Pitchers have their own award. Thus, in my opinion the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton should be the NL MVP. He homered Wednesday and leads the league in dingers by six and RBIs by 10.

MLB Betting Advice: Hot and Cold Teams for Runline Wagering
by Ricky Dimon - 9/4/2014

And down the stretch they come! With one month to go in the regular season, division races are heating up—or maybe winding down in the case of the two East divisions. Some teams are no longer in the playoff discussion but are still handsomely rewarding their backers. Other squads are in the thick of postseason contention but should be avoided like the plague by bettors.

Tracking the Nationals: Season-Long MLB Picks and Handicapping for Washington Baseball
by Dave Schwab - 9/4/2014

The 2014 MLB regular season is starting to wind down, with the calendar turning the page to September. Since opening day way back in April, I have been strictly handicapping the Washington Nationals and releasing weekly picks for their games with the use of Doc’s Sports Unit Betting System. By utilizing the betting strategy of specialization, my overall goal has been to generate a positive return on investment with these free picks.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday September 4, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/3/2014

The major-league home-run race appears as if it will go down to the wire. Entering Wednesday, Baltimore's Nelson Cruz leads all of baseball with 36, while Miami's Giancarlo Stanton (my pick early this season) has 35. Stanton is a lock to win the NL title with the news that the No. 2 guy, Chicago's Anthony Rizzo (30 HRs), likely will be shut down for the season. Bovada lists Cruz as the -200 favorite to win, with Stanton at +200. Here's a look at five interesting matchups on Thursday's limited schedule -- it's unusual there are no day games.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday September 3, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/2/2014

Was Monday's combined no-hitter by the Phillies the last no-no we will see this season? It was only the fourth of 2014. Don't know about you, but they don't overly excite me any longer. All four have come in the National League -- in fact, the last AL no-hitter was Aug. 15, 2012, by Seattle's Felix Hernandez. Cincinnati's Homer Bailey and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum each have two since then. Just shows how random they are.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday September 2, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 9/1/2014

I said that it was possible for either the Angels or A's to sweep their four-game series over the weekend and take total control of the AL West race. I just didn't think either team would sweep. Proves what I know. The Angels indeed did and now have a five-game lead in the division -- big enough that Sportsbook.ag has taken down AL West futures.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Saturday August 30, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/29/2014

Just a reminder to everyone that baseball's waiver trade deadline is at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, and there could be moves that will affect pennant races. Of course, the one problem for a team who claims a player is that the other team might just say: "keep him."

Tracking the Nationals: Season-Long MLB Picks and Handicapping for Washington Baseball
by Dave Schwab - 8/28/2014

This MLB regular season, I have incorporated the betting strategy of specialization by strictly handicapping the Washington Nationals and releasing weekly picks for their games with the use of Doc’s Unit Betting System. Doc’s has been posting these free picks to track my goal of generating a positive return on investment over the course of the entire MLB regular season.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Friday August 29, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/28/2014

Can you tell me the only two current franchises to never play in the World Series? The answer is Washington and Seattle. Both could make it this year, and that Fall Classic matchup is priced at +2500 on Sportsbook.ag. What do the Nats and Mariners have in common? Terrific pitching. They open a three-game series Friday night in the Pacific Northwest in the weekend's only interleague series. Here's a look at that game and four others.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Thursday August 28, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/27/2014

I wouldn't consider it likely, but should either Oakland or the L.A. Angels sweep this weekend's four-game series, that team would take control of the AL West and the potential top seed in the American League. Should one team get swept, it might force that panicked GM to make a trade before the waiver deadline. The Angels, for example, are looking for starting pitching in the wake of Garrett Richards' injury. Oakland is the -150 division favorite at Sportsbook.ag,

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Wednesday August 27, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/26/2014

You really shouldn't have been backing the wretched Texas Rangers regardless, but now don't even think about it the rest of the season. Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is being shut down for the season, and while he's been a disappointment, he's still was one of the team's best healthy players left. In addition, ace Yu Darvish also likely will be shelved.

Five to Follow MLB Betting: Tuesday August 26, 2014 Opening Line Report
by Alan Matthews - 8/25/2014

The Boston Red Sox clearly have given up at this point as they were just swept at home by the Seattle Mariners and have now lost eight straight games. And you know what? Management probably hopes the team continues to lose. It means a better draft pick and more slot money to sign those draft picks. Plus, if you finish with one of the 10 worst records in the league you don't have to cough up your first-round pick if you sign a top-tier free agent.

MLB Handicapping: Betting Large Moneylines for Dominant Pitchers
by George Monroy - 8/25/2014

Dominant pitching is a staple in Major League Baseball. Every season there are a handful of truly great pitchers that nearly guarantee their team a win each time they step on the mound. Those names change from year to year, and sometimes it may be a CC Sabathia, a Justin Verlander or a Clayton Kershaw, but the one thing they all have in common is that those pitchers can provide great betting value for baseball gamblers.