Early Major League Baseball Betting Predictions

Spring training is the time of optimism for all of the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, as the painful memories of August, September and October have faded, some key free agents have shifted teams, and now everyone approaches Opening Day in a massive tie for first place. Let’s take a look at some bold predictions that you might be able to use as you plan your MLB online betting.

Early Major League Baseball Betting Predictions

Arizona will win the National League West.

I know, the Dodgers and the Giants outspent the Diamondbacks on the free agent market. However, the Diamondbacks already had A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt in their batting order, and they might be one of the best pairs of hitters in the National League. The Diamondbacks signed Zack Greinke to their starting rotation, away from the Dodgers, and they already had the promising Shelby Miller in their rotation. This team could easily vault past the Dodgers (who have a new manager) and the Giants (who signed two new starting pitchers, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, who could easily fail to sizzle.

Adam Wainwright will win the National League Cy Young Award.

Remember when Wainwright went down in the first week of the 2015 season? He tore his Achilles tendon while batting, which started several arguments going: should pitchers bat? Should baseball players ever stretch so they won’t tear tendons from just swinging a bat? Wainwright will return as a rested, dominant ace and will win the Cy Young (and possibly the NL Comeback Player of the Year too). It won’t help St. Louis beat the Cubs in the NL Central, but it could get the Cardinals one of the wild cards.

Jason Heyward and Lorenzo Cain will be the Most Valuable Players.

Pitching is going to be even better this year than last year, so you won’t be able to win the MVP as a slugger. This year’s MVPs will be those players who combine skills on defense as well as at the plate, and Heyward and Cain are coming into their prime. Heyward is 26 and will do well in the Cubs’ offensive scheme, which is built more like an American League club than a conservative National League outfit. Cain had a career best .838 OPS in 2015 and is just about to turn 30.

 Jose Quintana will win the American League Cy Young Award.

Quintana has a 3.46 ERA over the last four years and has gone over 200 innings for the last three years. However, he has never won double digits, thanks to an iffy offense in Chicago. He could emerge as the ace for the White Sox, which would put him atop a stout rotation. Look for the master of the no-decision to start picking up W’s this year, which will give him the notice he needs to gain Cy Young chatter.

The Cubs will win 100 games.

They are in a tough division, with Pittsburgh and St. Louis in there with them. However, they won 97 games last year in the same division, and they will have a better outfield (Heyward in center, Kyle Schwarber in left and Jorge Soler in right). When did they last do that? 1935. Will they win the World Series? Maybe, but I see them dispatching the Mets in the NLCS to make it to the Fall Classic.