Betting: 2019 MLB Season Player Props – Home Runs (Part Two)

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The 2019 MLB season is quickly nearing and that means it is season long player prop time! For the 2018 season, I logged winners on 44 out of 67 (66%) season long player prop bets on their over/under marks in statistical categories. Those bets are undocumented outside of my own records, but those who know me well know I am an honest gentleman, and they also know I have a bit of a knack on this baseball thing.

Laying down some of that hard-earned cheddar to have to wait over six months to see any potential return on these season long props can be quite a drawn out process, but hey, baseball is a drawn out sport that is not for the impatient or for the thrill seeking adrenaline junkies. So if you are one that can truly appreciate the thought, deliberation, skill, and strategy that goes into this game that most grown men can only dream of playing for a living, then you should have no problem waiting the six plus months to see your bankroll additions! But if you are one that thinks baseball is “boring,” a.) I don’t necessarily blame you and b.) then you can still read the analysis below, bet it and forget it, don’t watch a single at-bat all season, then login to your account on September 30 for a pleasant monetary surprise.

These picks are based off my personal hand-crafted statistical player projections. ***Unless noted otherwise, all lines are from MyBookie.

The largest percentage of my player prop picks are on home runs, so the home runs category is going to be broken up into two parts. This post will focus on all picks that have a home run over/under of 23.5 or less.

So let’s get caught looking at these props!

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Anthony Rendon: Over 23.5 home runs (-115) – Sir Anthony Rendon is a doubles machine, producing a double every 12.20 at-bats over the last two seasons combined. I posit that this season he will translate some of those doubles into home runs. From 2013-2015, Rendon posted sub-40% flyball rates, but has been at 43.6% or greater in each season from 2016-2018, peaking at 47.2% in 2017. So clearly, whether consciously or not, he’s become a part of the flyball revolution, but he just has yet to see that elusive 30 home run season thanks to never exceeding a 12.3% HR/flyball%. However, given his batted ball profile, I see a very realistic pathway for Rendon to post a HR/flyball% north of 15%. Couple that with his strong ability to put the ball in play and this is a potential jackpot for an unsuspected easy win. The Backwards K projection: 32 home runs

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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire (9/25/15): Rich Hill Is Not Over the Hill Just Yet

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We are just days away from the final week of the fantasy baseball season so that means that this will be the year’s final Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire column. Sad times, I know. But that won’t prevent me from getting an early start on preparing for next year’s fantasy baseball season as I will be doing some research and analysis as soon as the season is over. Yes, I’m aware that I have a fantasy baseball addiction — and there is no cure — and I love it!

The final week of the regular season is always a bit funky. There will be plenty of adjustments to teams’ starting rotations as they either rearrange theirs for post-season preparation, shut down pitchers due to workload concerns, or go to a 6-man rotation to give some pitchers extra rest and/or to give some pitchers an extra look before the season concludes. Because of that, forecasting 2-start pitchers in the final week is practically impossible, so it’s best to just find pitchers who are pitching well and have positive hopeful matchups. In addition, many starting pitchers may even have their final start of the season cut short after a few innings. The same thing goes for hitters — they may see more days off and early exits from games as teams may more often start players who are normally reserves and also work in pinch-hitters, pinch-runners, and defensive replacements. Just be prepared for these things to happen and then yell at your MLB.com At-Bat app when you see the bad news — I do it all the time.

I’ll review last week’s recommendations first (see full article here), some of which did pretty well, and then I’ll give another 6 hitters and 6 pitchers who you can utilize for the final days of the season. Good luck to you all and bring home a fantasy championship or two!

***NOTE: To qualify as a waiver wire recommendation, a player must be owned in less than 50% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues and less than 60% of CBS leagues (players typically have higher ownership levels on CBS). Continue reading

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire (9/18/15): Find Comfort In Conforto

Source: Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

Source: Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

We are getting down to the nitty gritty of it all with just 17 days left in the MLB season, so now is especially the time to not show fear. Take some risks by waiving certain players to pick up other players that may help you in a specific category and/or who are lined up for some very favorable matchups. The waiver wire is your friend more than ever this late in the season if you’re still in the running for your league’s championship. Chances are that half your league has checked out and they are contemplating which defense and kickers to stream for week 2 of the NFL season. Less league mates paying attention means that there’s lots of different things that you can do on your baseball waiver wire to improve your team each and every day for the rest of the season.

I’ll review last week’s recommendations first (see full article here) and then I’ll give another 6 hitters and 6 pitchers who are readily available and could be of interest to you.

***NOTE: To qualify as a waiver wire recommendation, a player must be owned in less than 50% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues and less than 60% of CBS leagues (players typically have higher ownership levels on CBS). Continue reading