MLB Midseason Online Betting Predictions

Posted by Alex Murphy on Friday,August 7, 2015 6:25, EDT in

With the non-waiver trading deadline in the rear view mirror, it’s time to consider what the rest of the MLB season has in store. There are some teams, such as the Phillies and Marlins, who are way out of contention, while there are some others, such as the Cardinals and the Royals, who appear to have their October tickets punched already. However, there’s a lot of room in the middle for teams to move around. Here are some online betting predictions of what I think is going to happen.

Taking a Look at the MLB Midseason Online Betting Predictions

The Texas Rangers Surge Back For a Wild Card

The Rangers have played stretches of awful baseball this season – and they have played stretches of terrific ball as well. What’s their record? Right around .500, like you might expect. However, they are only five games behind Houston in the American League West, and less than two games out of the second wild card position in the American League. There are five teams bunched there right with them, but there are a couple of reasons for optimism in Arlington.

First, the team just picked up Cole Hamels in a blockbuster deal with the Phillies. While the team did have to send three primo prospects east, they get control over one of baseball’s best pitchers for the next three seasons as a result. This was primarily a move for 2016 and beyond, but Hamels will energize the team now as well. Starting pitcher Derek Holland is set to return, and he is hitting the mid-90s with his fastball in rehab starts. If Holland can stay off the disabled list, that gives the team two plus starters. The offense seems to be waking up a bit, and if Martin Perez can keep showing the dominant stuff he showed against San Francisco in his second start after coming back from Tommy John surgery, that’s three plus starters – and that’s all you need in a short playoff series. Keep an eye on the Rangers.

The Detroit Tigers Will Fall Off the Table

I really scratched my head when I heard that the Tigers had fired general manager Dave Dombrowski, particularly in the middle of the season. The Tigers were regularly in the postseason mix over the past decade, winning two American League pennants and a bunch of American League Central titles. It’s true that the Tigers opted to become sellers, trading ace David Price to Toronto, but it’s a shame to see the architect of the Florida Marlins’ early World Series success (remember when the Marlins were good?) get cut loose like that. Miguel Cabrera has been injured, and Justin Verlander has not returned to his solid pitching form since returning from his injury, either. That doesn’t mean that the team needed a shakeup at the top.

Even so, maybe that’s what you get when your owner (Mike Ilitch) is both hypercompetitive and hearing a personal window of opportunity sliding shut (Ilitch is 86 years old). Dombrowski was in the last year of his contract, and I guess Ilitch thought the time was now to bring in a new general manager. Whoever comes in is going to have a mess on his hands to clean up.

Toronto Will Return to the Playoffs

Now that Price is headlining the Blue Jays’ rotation, Toronto will head back into the playoffs. Currently, the Blue Jays have the longest playoff drought, but they will end that, with the bats of Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson in the lineup. I’m not sure whether the Blue Jays will catch New York to win the American League East, but they will definitely hold a wild card if they don’t.