Posted on

2015 MLB Player Props

The Major League Baseball 2015 regular season starts in just over one month. Odds makers have just released an array of different props that can be bet on for the season.

Bookmakers have released MLB World Series futures, divisional odds and win total, but now there are player specific props to wager on as well.

One prop bet that is always the most popular is the player who will hit the most home runs. Last season that player was Nelson Cruz in the American League with 50 and Giancarlo Stanton with 37 led the National League.

Stanton this season is the favorite at +600 to lead the majors in home runs. According to Bovada and betonline, Stanton is +600, Jose Abreu is +800 and Chris Carter is +1800.

A number of other key statistical offensive categories are available to make future bets on.

The league leader for hits has an over/under of 213.5.

Last season just one player Jose Altuve had 200 or more hits with 225. Odds makers such as topbet and sportsbook.com have Altuve leading the majors in hits but with just 195.

The batting average leader in the league is set at .341 for the over/under. Altuve led the league in batting average last season as well as in hits. He finished at .341, with Victor Martinez at .335 in second and Michael Brantley at .327 in third.

The number of home runs has an over/under of 43.5. No individual hitter is expected to hit over 41 home runs this season. Since 2001, the number of homes has continually dropped.

The most RBIs are set at 124.5 for the over/under. Last season the top RBI man was Adrian Gonzalez for the Los Angeles Dodgers with 116 and just 12 hit the 100 RBI mark. Both Stanton and Miguel Cabrera are expected to have 104 RBIs in the season making them co-favorites in that category.

The leader in stolen bases for this season has an over/under of 63.5. Dee Gordon of Miami and Billy Hamilton of Cincinnati will be the top two in stolen bases. Gordon led the league last season with 64 stolen bases, while Hamilton tied Altuve for second at 56.

From hitting to pitching, the league leader for wins is set at 21.5. Last season the most wins were 21 by Clayton Kershaw, while Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright recorded 20 apiece. Just one pitcher in the last five seasons, Justin Verlander in 2011 with 24, has won 22 or more games.

The most saves in the league is set at 47.5. Fernando Rodney last season led the league with 48 saves. Five top relievers in the league are predicted to record only 35 saves this season, which is astronomically low. After all, in 11 of the last 14 seasons, at least one pitcher has had 48 or more saves.

Posted on

Odds Makers Take Notice of Brewers Sweeping Dodgers in LA

Major League Baseball has less than a month and a half before the regular season ends and the race for the World Series begins.

Odds makers have released their most recent futures for the World Series. The Milwaukee Brewers sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend was noticed by bookmakers, as the odds for the Brewers on Bovada and sportsbook.com were shortened.

Milwaukee had its odds shorted from 14 to 1 last week to 12 to 1 on topbet and betonline.

What made the sweep of the Dodgers so impressive by the Brewers was it was on the road, against a top National League team and included defeating Clayton Kershaw.

Milwaukee has played well all season and is currently leading the National League Central by 3 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Brewers are 70-55 and have the second best NL record.

With the additional of a second spot in the wildcard race, more emphasis has been placed on winning the division so as not to play in a one-game play-in.

That is why the seven remaining head-to-head games between the Brewers and the second place Cardinals will be so important down the stretch.

The Brewers have a very deep lineup with Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez, Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Lucroy, a candidate for the NL MVP award.

The pitching staff has not been same as the batting order, but owns an ERA of 3.60.

Yovani Gallardo showed he could pitch with the best of them by earning a win against Kershaw. Gallardo, Wily Peralta and Kyle Lohse are three formidable starters that can make life miserable for any opposing batter.

Nevertheless, there are nearly 40 games left in the baseball regular season and the stretch run of September is still to come.

All of the races in the Majors are within 7.5 games. The Baltimore Orioles lead the AL East by that amount over the New York Yankees, while Washington leads by 6 games over the Atlanta Braves.

In the AL West on a half game separates the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland A’s at the top. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the NL West by 3 ½ games.

WORLD SERIES ODDS 2014

LOS DODGERS 7 to 2

OAKLAND A’S 9 to 2

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 6 to 1

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 7 to 1

DETROIT TIGERS 8 to 1

BALTIMORE ORIOLES 8 to 1

KANSAS CITY ROYALS 12 to 1

MILWAUKEE BREWERS 12 to 1

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 14 to 1

SEATTLE MARINERS 18 to 1

Posted on

New Updated World Series Futures

Major Baseball is well into its second half as the season starts to wind toward the home stretch of August and September.

Starting the season, the American League East was predicted by some bookmakers to be one of baseball’s strongest divisions.

The New York Yankees had spent millions during the offseason to reload their roster, the Boston Red Sox would be defending their World Series title, while the Tampa Bay Rays had been able to get great production from a roster that was made with limited flexibility financially.

However, the three teams have been mediocre at best and the Yankees are currently 25 to 1 on Bovada and sportsbook.com to win the World Series, while the Red Sox and Rays on topbet and betonline sit at 50 to 1.

Regardless of how well those three teams have played, the AL East should have a big finish since all five teams are close together. From top to bottom, the difference is just 8 games.

The Baltimore Orioles now lead the division and are 16 to 1 on the updated World Series futures. Baltimore is four games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees, 7 ½ in front of Boston and 8 in front of Tampa Bay.

Baltimore is now at 8 to 1 on the futures board to be the American League representative in the World Series. However, the Orioles will have to worry about the Yankees and Blue Jays, and the recently resurgent Red Sox who have won 8 of 10 and the Rays winners of 7 of 10.

The Red Sox and Rays have both been mentioned as teams that could sell top name players such as David Price from Tampa and Andrew Miller and Koji Uehera from Boston.

However, the Rays have won 14 of their past 18 and Boston 8 of its past 10. The upcoming 10 days might determine if either of the two teams takes a gamble to win the AL East or caves in and makes trades to rebuild for another season.

With Boston returning to its form of late last season and Tampa with one of the best managers in the league, it would not be shocking to see one of the two or both battling down to the wire at the end of September for the AL East title.

Current 2014 World Series Futures

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 9 to 2

OAKLAND A’S 9 to 2

DETROIT TIGERS 5 to 1

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 8 to 1

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 8 to 1

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 10 to 1

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 12 to 1

ATLANTA BRAVES 16 to 1

BALTIMORE ORIOLES 16 to 1

TORONTO BLUE JAYS 20 to 1

Posted on

Oakland A’s Odds Shortened for World Series After Trade

The Major League Baseball summer classic, the All-Star Game is quickly approaching which is the figurative midpoint of the season.

Although teams have played more than half their schedule, the All-Star break is a midpoint breather for teams battling for a division title or a wildcard berth in the playoffs.

The latest World Series Futures have been updated and released with the Oakland A’s sitting at the top with their odds shortened from 9 to 2 to 4 to 1.

The trade deadline comes in August and will have a big impact on the futures of teams for the World Series. Last week a trade was made by the A’s that already has impacted the World Series Futures.

Oakland acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, two starting pitchers, from the Chicago Cubs for two minor league prospects.

Several teams were after Samardzija the Chicago ace, but Oakland surprised the league by acquiring him.

The move shortened the odds for Oakland on Bovada and topbet, and put the other teams in baseball on notice that the A’s were gearing up for the stretch run to October.

The Oakland pitching staff already had the No. 2 team ERA in the league and with Hammel and Samardjiza the A’s likely have the best starting rotation in the American League, and if it were not for the Los Angeles Dodgers the A’s would have the best in baseball.

Oakland owns the best record in baseball at 55-33, but is only 3.5 games in front of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. The Angels have shortened their futures from 12 to 1 to 10 to 1, on betonline and sportsbook.com.

With the two wildcard berths available in each league, it is much more important to win the division and avoid a one-game play-in.

Samardzija showed in his debut on Sunday with Oakland why the A’s let a top prospect go in the trade. The powerful right-hander tossed one-run ball over seven innings to win.

With he and Hammel added to a the A’s rotation Oakland now has Scott Kazmir with an ERA of 2.53, Sonny Gray at 3.08 and Chavez at 3.23.

Oakland already has strengthened its hold on the American League. Though the pitching staff has been discussed for the most part of late when mentioning the A’s, the club has one of the best hitting lineups as well.

The A’s are first in runs scored with 444, second in on base percentage and eighth in slugging percentage.

2014 World Series Futures

OAKLAND A’S 4 to 1

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 9 to 2

DETROIT TIGERS 9 to 2

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 10 to 1

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 10 to 1

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 12 to 1

ATLANTA BRAVES 12 to 1

MILWAUKEE BREWERS 12 to 1

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 15 to 1

BALTIMORE ORIOLES 16 to 1

Posted on

Updated World Series Odds, Blue Jays in Top 10

Another week has passed and another updated World Series futures list has been released.

Prior to the start of the 2014 Major League Baseball season, it looked as though the American League East division would be back to its elite status as one of the strongest from top to bottom.

The 2013 World Series was won by the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees opened their wallets after missing out on the postseason for just the second time since the 1994 season and Tampa Bay were the same, which says they were highly competitive even though they lack top name stars.

However, the AL East has now become the AL Least, when many had thought it would be the AL Beast. At the head of the class, this week in the division is the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have won 7 straight and 9 of 10 to take a two game lead over the Yankees.

Tampa Bay is 7 games back in fourth place and the defending World Series champion Red Sox are 8 games back having just ended a losing streak of 10 games with a win on Monday night.

With their recent play, the Blue Jays nearly cut their World Series odds in half from the previous week. Last week Toronto was priced at 30 to 1 and now is sitting at 16 to 1 moving to the 10th shortest odds on Bovada, betonline, topbet and sportsbook.com.

The AL East has just three teams playing over .500 and just one team, the Blue Jays, with a positive run-differential, which is +23.

The Yankees are at -6, the Red Sox at -27 and the Rays, with their pitching strength are at -18. The remaining team in the East, the Baltimore Orioles who were at the top of the division for a short stint are -6, despite having one of the stronger lineups top to bottom on paper.

When strong lineups come to mind, one thinks of the powerful Blue Jays offense that has helped them to their spot at the top including a sweep of the Oakland A’s just last weekend.

Toronto fans were hoping for this after trading for Jose Reyes and signing Melky Cabrera to set up for Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

However, remember that four plus months remains on the schedule and even though the offense is strong, the Blue Jays pitching staff is currently 24th in baseball with an ERA of 4.15.

Updated Odds for 2014 World Series

DETROIT TIGERS 9 to 2

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 6 to 1

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 7 to 1

OAKLAND A’s 8 to 1

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 10 to 1

LOS ANGELES ANGELS 12 to 1

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 12 to 1

ATLANTA BRAVES 12 to 1

NEW YORK YANKEES 16 to 1

TORONTO BLUE JAYS 16 to 1

Posted on

Updated 2014 World Series Champion Futures Released

The most recent updated set of World Series odds have been released by bookmakers online. Thus far, after a month and a half, the Detroit Tigers are playing as many expected, as they sport the league’s best record.

Before opening day, odds makers such as Bovada and betonline had the Tigers sitting at 8 to 1 to win the World Series. Their odds were the shortest in the American League.

However, due to their strong start to this season, the Tigers have seen their odds shortened to just 5 to 1 on topbet and sportsbook.com.

At 27-13, the Tigers own the best record in baseball and the second best differential in runs at +54. Only the Oakland Athletics are ahead of the Tigers with +94.

Detroit has won six of its past 7 including sweeping the Boston Red Sox, the defending champions at Fenway Park over the weekend.

Detroit is ninth in baseball in runs scored. However, their best hitter and likely the best in baseball, Miguel Cabrera is now starting to get on track.

During the Boston series, Cabrera had 7 hits in 12 at bats and is batting .375 for May. In Monday’s 10-inning loss to Cleveland, Cabrera had 3 hits in 5 at bats.

Besides Cabrera, the Tigers have hitters like Victory Martinez who is hitting .331 with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs. Martinez has hit 10 home runs, while striking out just 9 times this season.

If offense was not enough, the pitching staff for Detroit is heating up. Max Scherzer the team’s ace has an ERA of just 1.83. Detroit has the best ERA in the league for starters with 2.65.

Justin Verlander was the dominant pitcher in the American League between 2009 and 2012. This year he is still sporting just a 3.15 ERA, which is great number for many, expect Verlander.

Add to those two the solid pitching of Anibal Sanchez, Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly and you have one of the league’s best starting rotations.

Detroit thus far is living up to its preseason hype and figures as it has taken over the top spot as the favorite for the World Series from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Futures 2014 World Series Champion

Detroit Tigers 5 to 1

Los Angele Dodgers 6 to 1

St. Louis Cardinals 8 to 1

Oakland A’s 8 to 1

Washington Nationals 10 to 1

San Francisco Giants 12 to 1

New York Yankees 14 to 1

Boston Red Sox 14 to 1

Los Angeles Angels 14 to 1

Atlanta Braves 14 to 1.

Posted on

Colorado Rockies Moving Up 2014 World Series Futures Board

The World Series is four months away but odds makers continue to update the futures odds for the Fall Classic. Starting the regular season, bookmakers like Bovada and topbet had the Los Angeles Dodgers as the top team in the league and the favorite to win the World Series.

The Dodgers were listed as 1 to 3 favorites to win the National League West title and 5 to 1 favorites on betonline and sportsbook.com to win the World Series.

At that same time, the Colorado Rockies opened the season as an afterthought for most with the division’s longest odds at 15 to 1.

Not only were their division odds a long shot, but their odds of winning the Fall Classic were 75 to 1 on opening day. However, with one month of the 2014 season behind us the Rockies are looking to make things out west a little more interesting.

Colorado started strong and is currently 19-14 with their price for a World Series win shortened to its current 30 to 1, which is significantly lower than last week when the Rockies were 50 to 1.

Considering the park the Rockies play in Coors Field, which is perennially an offensive friendly park, it is not surprising they are the league leader in runs with 186 and in OPS with .832.

Troy Tulowitzki the club’s star shortstop is batting .400 with 7 home runs and 25 RBIs, which are MVP numbers at this point of the season.

Justin Morneau is batting .336 with 7 home runs and 25 RBIs, while players who are lesser known like Nolan Arenado is batting .311 with 5 home runs and 20 RBIs and Charlie Blackmon at .359 with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs.

The Rockies could be a force if they can keep hitting the way they started the season and their pitching can hold the opposition in check. However, that is easier said than done.

This season the pitching staff is No. 24 overall in the league with a team ERA of 4.32. The sad part is that the club’s two best pitchers are likely two youngsters on their Double-A team. Both Eddie Butler and Jon Gray have strong arms, but the team cannot rely on them transitioning to the Big Leagues with much success this season.

2014 World Series Futures

Los Angeles Dodgers 6 to 1

Detroit Tigers 6 to 1

Washington Nationals 8 to 1

Oakland Athletics 12 to 1

Atlanta Braves 14 to 1

Tampa Bay Rays 14 to 1

San Francisco Giants 14 to 1

Boston Red Sox 14 to 1

New York Yankees 14 to 1

Posted on

Updated 2014 World Series Odds Released by Bookmakers

Odds makers released new updated World Series odds on Monday. Starting the season, the Oakland A’s have grabbed the best record in the American League, which has helped to shorten their odds to win the Fall Classic.

When Bovada and topbet posted their odds online before the opening game of the Major League Baseball season, the Oakland A’s were 16 to 1 to win the 2014 World Series.

During spring training, Oakland lost two starting pitchers to injuries. Jarrod Parker had to undergo Tommy John surgery, while A.J. Griffin suffered tendinitis in his right flexor.

Griffin might return to the A’s rotation by late May or early June. However, Parker with his reconstructive surgery is lost to Oakland for the entire season.

However, the injury setbacks have not stopped the A’s from racing out to the best overall record in the American League at 13-6.

Oakland shortened its odds from 16 to 1 to 14 to 1 to start last week. This week the A’s shortened them further to 12 to 1, according to betonline and sportsbook.com.

Oakland’s strong 2014 start is attributable to strong pitching with Scott Kazmir having an ERA of 1.65, Jesse Chavez an ERA of 1.38 and an average of 9.7 K’s per 9 innings and Sonny Gray with an ERA of 1.80 and 8.3 K’s per 9 innings.

The three pitchers have made it easier for Oakland to get over the injuries to Parker and Griffin. As of Monday, the A’s pitching staff had a team ERA of just 2.48.

Gray had a strong season last year with over 9 strikeouts per 9 innings and an ERA of 2.67, while Kazmir finished his season strong for the Cleveland Indians.

However, Chavez has come from nowhere to be a huge stabilizing factor for the starting rotation in Oakland. The majority of his career has been in the bullpen and that has not been all that great with a career ERA of 5.08. Chavez this season has been nothing short of fantastic.

Even though the A’s have had strong pitching from their starting rotation to start the season, the fast start by the A’s would not have been possible if the team did not have a strong offensive unit to complement its pitching staff.

The A’s OPS at .756 is the fourth best and the team has scored 87 runs which is the sixth most in the league.

Bovada points out that the A’s are the two-time defending champs of the American League West so a strong start to this season does not come as that big of a surprise to baseball fans.

Odds for 2014 World Series

Los Angeles Dodgers 5 to 1

St. Louis Cardinals 6 to 1

Detroit Tigers 7 to 1

Washington Nationals 8 to 1

Oakland Athletics 12 to 1

Boston Red Sox 14 to 1

New York Yankees 14 to 1

Texas Rangers 16 to 1

Atlanta Braves 16 to 1

San Francisco Giants 16 to 1

Posted on

New Futures for 2014 World Series Champion Released

New World Series odds have been released by bookmakers with some early season surprises. The San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers have all made substantial movement over the first two weeks of the season.

The Brewers and Giants have seen their odds shortened on Bovada and betonline line, while Cincinnati’s odds have tumbled on sportsbook.com and topbet.

Cincinnati opened the season with a price of 14 to 1 to win the World Series. If you believe the Reds will still win the series, now is when a wager should be made.

The Reds have started 4-8 but are much better than the record indicates. The team has a good starting rotation, strong bullpen and good closer, who is out injured now by is due back in May.

Mat Latos has had an arm injury which hurts the Reds’ starting rotation, but Homer Bailey the ace is capable of lowering his abnormally high earned run average and get back on track.

Robert Stephenson is a rookie currently in Double-A ball and cannot be expected to replace Latos, but his strong arm could help him until experience steps in.

Milwaukee has been the surprise of baseball with their 10-2 start. The Brewers opened at 60 to 1 odds, but sportsbooks have shortened the price a great deal to their current 20 to 1, thanks to strong pitching from both the starters and relievers. Offensively, the batting order has proved to be dangerous. However, two weeks does not make a season as they have 150 games left to play.

Offensively with Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez, the team can produce a number of runs. Milwaukee also has five strong starting pitchers and if they remain healthy, the club could contend in the very strong National League Central.

The San Francisco Giants are also making their move up the odds board, shortening their odds for winning the Fall Classic.

The Giants have another strong starting rotation, but might have the most underrated team in the league. Offensively the Giants are strong with Hunter Pence, Michael Morse and Brandon Belt. On the mound, the talent is not what it has been when the Giants won World Series nevertheless it is stronger than many clubs are.

The Giants started the season at 20 to 1, but have shortened that in just two weeks to 16 to 1. That number could become even shorter if the team continues to win games at the rate they have started.

NEW ODDS 2014 World Series Champions

Los Angeles Dodgers 5 to 1

Detroit Tigers 7 to 1

St. Louis Cardinals 7 to 1

Washington Nationals 8 to 1

Tampa Bay Rays 14 to 1

Boston Red Sox 14 to 1

Oakland A’s 14 to 1

Los Angeles Angels 16 to 1

New York Yankees 16 to 1

Atlanta Braves 16 to 1

Posted on

American League Futures for 2014

Farrell
Farrell
Can John Farrell lead the Red Sox to another American League East title?

Here are your odds for the American League Futures for 2014.

American League East

Boston +200 While it appears that Big Papi and the team have reached an extension, will his amazing bat be enough to get the BoSox back to the playoffs? Jacoby Ellsbury is in New York so his talent will be hard to replace. Pitching will be a question mark in terms of the rotation but the closer spot is locked down.

Tampa Bay +220 The Rays are the sexy pick right now for the East title because of their pitching from top to bottom and their offense which could, and I stress could, be really good if Evan Longoria can stay healthy.

NY Yankees +240 There’s no question the Yanks did not take kindly to their rivals winning another World Series title. They signed Ellsbury and picked up the latest Japanese pitching sensation in Masahiro Tanaka. Questions will revolve around the health of Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira in terms of whether they can hang in the division.

Baltimore +700 The Birds will look to repeat their success on offense from last year where they ranked in the top five in both slugging percentage and runs. The problem is on the hill where they ranked 25th or worse in many key categories. Manny Machado will start on the 15-DL too which won’t help.

Toronto +700 The Blue Jays had high expectations going into last season and those fizzled quickly. The pitching was for the most part atrocious and the hitting was middle of the road and left much to be desired.

Iglesias
Can the loss of Iglesias be overcome in Detroit in 2014?

American League Central

Detroit -225 The Tigers have already suffered a big blow when shortstop Jose Iglesias was shelved for the season with shin problems in both legs. Detroit should have plenty of talent to still take the division but let’s also remember Jim Leyland is gone. Brad Ausmus is the new man in Motown.

Kansas City +450 Much like the Rays in the AL East, the Royals are a very popular pick to do some good things this year. They have nice core with Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon to build around. They could be a very nice pick for the wild-card if not the division.

Cleveland +550 The Indians always seem to hang around and they did so surprisingly last year. They must get better production from the rotation because last year they finished 27th in quality starts. The offense wasn’t too bad ranking fifth in runs scored.

Chicago White Sox +1200 The South-siders were just brutal last season at the plate ranking in the lower half of MLB in most hitting statistics. That must get better in a division with Detroit. The pitching could also stand to get better as well.

Minnesota +2500 The Twins are in rebuilding mode and it might take some time. They just weren’t very good in 2013 ranking near the bottom in every pitching category and not much higher in the offensive realm either. This should be another long year in Minneapolis.

American League West

Texas +175 The Rangers were pretty good hitting the ball in 2013 and should get a little better with the addition of Prince Fielder who came into camp in the best shape of his career. Yu Darvish will anchor the rotation which is decent, but they must get more quality starts to take pressure off of the bullpen.

Oakland +200 The A’s didn’t hit for a great average in 2013 but they scored runs and they slugged the heck out of the ball. I look for that to continue as should the really good pitching from last season. Another trip to the playoffs is in the cards here but advancing to the World Series is the goal.

LA Angels +225 This team will go where Mike Trout can take it. The offense wasn’t really the problem last season because the pitching was. They were near the bottom in opponent’s batting average and ERA. Regardless of what the offense does if the pitching doesn’t come around the Angels are in trouble.

Seattle +700 $240 million later Robinson Cano is the toast of the Pacific Northwest. The question is can he produce the way the team and fan base expect him to? I expect Cano to raise the numbers offensively for this team but the pitching needs help too. King Felix can’t do it all.

Houston +5000 The Astros should have one goal in 2014 and that’s to be competitive in each and every game. Both the hitting and pitching cannot get much worse so I expect a little improvement in H-Town.