Teams That Can Still Resurge This MLB Betting Season

Posted by Alex Murphy on Wednesday,June 10, 2015 3:28, EDT in

When the Texas Rangers opened their MLB betting season, two of their starting pitchers were already on the disabled list – Derek Holland, perhaps best known for his Game 5 gem in the 2011 World Series, and Yu Darvish, the bedeviling ace the Rangers had brought from Japan. They had committed fat stacks of cash to two hitters who had either been injured all year (Prince Fielder) or most of the year (Shin-Soo Choo) in 2014. When the 2015 season opened, the team foundered to a 7-15 start, never winning more than one consecutive game.

Teams That Can Still Resurge This MLB Betting Season

 

 

Things began to turn a little as the team floated along to a 9-8 record in the next 17 games, but they were still way behind the streaking Houston Astros. Since then, though, manager Jeff Banister decided he would open up the roles in the bullpen, and the bats finally started hitting. The Rangers have since gone 15-4 and are now only two games back of those same Astros and, if they can continue their quality play, have a chance to be the contender that general manager Jon Daniels envisioned when he put this roster together. Holland and another quality starter, Martin Perez, should both return this season and contribute as well.

Another interesting team in the American League West is the Oakland A’s. The A’s have gotten off to a rough start, with a 23-37 record, sitting 11 games back in the division. However, their run differential is a +2, amazing for a team that far under .500. The answer is that the A’s have lost a ton of 1-run games. This is one reason why general manager Billy Beane has waited to pull the trigger and start selling off tradeable assets. Pitchers such as Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir are legitimate big-league talents, and if the lineup can start hitting, there is still time for the A’s to make a season of it. For now, though, they are in the cellar, looking way up at the Astros.

In the American League East, the Toronto Blue Jays have won seven games in a row to make it back to .500 (30-30 record). This is a division that is wide open – the Yankees are currently in first place, in a year when people thought they would have to settle for rebuilding. While they have had a hot start, the lineup the Yankees have put together could easily falter as the season wears on. After all, plenty of teams who are in first place at the All-Star break find themselves well back by Labor Day. Toronto has a talented lineup, including Josh Robertson at 3rd base, and if they can continue their surge, they could win their first division title since the Joe Carter days.

In the National League Central, the Cincinnati Reds appear to be making a bit of a comeback as well. They sit 11 games back of the Cardinals but have won 6 of 10, and the two teams between the Reds and the Cardinals are the Pirates – still a young, mercurial bunch – and the Cubs, who still seem to be figuring out just who they are. At this point, anything is possible, and the Reds could catch fire as they have in seasons past.

Sources:
ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/tor/toronto-blue-jays
YahooSports.com:  http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/cin/