When it comes to betting on baseball, things can look easy when you bet on the money line. But the juice can get you, so you have to be careful when betting heavy favorites. Betting light favorites and underdogs is often the way to go, along with first five innings, totals, and the run line.
As we are past the halfway point in the MLB season, the LA Dodgers are still the favorite at +200, while the NY Yankees are second at +500 (despite losing six straight games). This is one of the strangest first halves of baseball ever, especially in the American League, where there are just five teams above .500
(odds from DraftKings)
Top Five Teams to Bet on:
1)Chicago White Sox ($1278). The White Sox are just 45-39, but they’ve been so undervalued that they have the biggest ROI and are also 50-34 Over. So they are one of the best teams to go over with.
2)Washington ($1126) is another one of those teams that was undervalued coming into this season and with a record of 44-43, they aren’t even a wild card team. But they can hit and are 16-10 against the woeful AL (remember that stat).
3)Milwaukee ($851). When you have a starter named the “Miz” who throws 105mph and a staff that ranks second in ERA, that helps matters.
4)St. Louis ($827). One of the surprises in the league, the Cards find ways to win. Not a special team at 44-38, but a strong team to bet on with good value.
5)Tampa Bay ($819). In a season of surprises, they might be second after the White Sox when most picked them last in the AL East. Yet, here they are again. It starts with hitting, as they rank second in baseball with a .259 average, but they won’t overpower you (74 homers). Kevin Cash is doing smoke-and-mirrors. Can they keep up in the second half?
Bottom 5 Teams to Bet against
30)NY Mets ($-2121). Yuck. They aren’t the worst team in baseball, but the worst team to bet on. Andy Green is the new manager taking over for Carlos Mendoza. He has a lot of work to do as the Mets are 36-50.
29)Kansas City ($-1652). The Royals are dreadful and are likely to be sellers with Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo as prime pitching targets. At 35-51, they couldn’t get much worse.
28)Detroit ($-1617). The Tigers are one of the league’s biggest disappointments, and even with ace Tarik Skubal back in the rotation, they may have dug too deep a hole. Will some team take him as a rental before the trade deadline? Plenty will try, but Detroit should hold on to him unless they get an incredible deal.
27)Boston ($-1333). Another disappointing team that fired its manager. Alex Cora is gone, but is there light at the end of the tunnel under Chad Tracy? A four-game sweep of the Yankees last weekend might have their plans on hold, but at 5 games behind the last wild card spot, they have a ways to go.
26)Seattle ($-1211). The Mariners are 43-43, but have been a dreadful team to bet on. Injuries have slowed them down some. But the addition of Rob Refsnyder as a free agent has been a bust. Here’s a team that always seems to have hitting issues. They rank 26th in batting average (.231) and 24th in OPS (.696).
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Upcoming and Current Events at ATS:
- The World Cup runs through July 19. Consists of 32 teams in the Knockout Stage, mainly playing in the United States. It’s the biggest event in the world.
- Wimbledon Tennis Championships (June 29-July 12)
- UFC Fight Night
- UFC 329 MCGREGOR VS HOLLOWAY 2 / LAS VEGAS, NVSaturday July 11th*Projected +30 units as $250 /u clients expected to win $7,500+
- Hall of Fame Game (Aug 6). Preseason NFL action begins as ATS enters its 34th football season. Early Bird discounts are available now!
_____________________________________________________________________