MLB Surprise Money Makers on the Mound
By Covers.com
The baseball season, only a month old, has provided plenty of surprises – some pleasant, some not – depending on which side of the board you were betting.
Albert Pujols’ power outage, the BoSox’s blunders and Baltimore’s sudden ascent in the American League East have all won and lost MLB bettors some coin to start the 2012 schedule. Chances are, if you’ve been wagering on the latter, you already know about Orioles arms Tommy Hunter and Jason Hammel.
The pair of pitchers has combined for a 5-2 record, a 3.12 ERA and 7.68 units, meaning that if you bet $100 on each of Hunter and Hammel’s starts this year, you’d be living la vida loca with $768 big ones.
But will the good times continue to roll in Baltimore, where the Orioles are 15-9 and have won close to nine units in the first month of the schedule?
Probably not. The O’s have some nice pieces in their rotation but won’t be able to lean on these arms to keep winnings games. Baltimore’s staff doesn’t pose true strikeout power (ranking just 18th in the majors with 167 Ks) and the lineup doesn’t have the offensive marbles to keep the team afloat when the pitching stumbles.
An upcoming rough stretch of schedule, which features Boston, Texas, Tampa Bay and the Yankees, could unravel the Orioles’ success, and drop Hunter and Hummel down the money list.
Here are three other surprise bread winners toeing the rubber and if MLB bettors can continue to cash in on their starts:
Bud Norris, Houston Astros (4.13 units)
Houston has won in four of Norris’ five appearances to start the season, most recently a 4-3 win over the Mets in which Norris crumbled in the later innings. The right-hander does, however, have solid strikeout prowess, fanning 19 batters in his last three outings.
The only issue with betting on Houston when Norris takes the bump is the fact you’re betting on Houston. The Astros have come out of the gate swinging, sitting eighth in runs and batting average, but that production could dry up quicker than a Sham Wow. I would trust Norris about as much as infomercial pitchman Vince Offer, especially with some tougher tasks coming in mid May.
Lance Lynn, St. Louis Cardinals (4.10 units)
The Cardinals young righty has a name that sounds like it was ripped straight from the pages of a comic book and he’s been playing the role of superhero for St. Louis bettors, going a perfect 4-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his first four starts. The crazy thing is, Lynn is pitching in place of injured ace Chris Carpenter and became the first pitcher to reach four wins on the season.
The Cardinals were severely undervalued to begin the season thanks to Pujols’ departure, Carpenter’s ailments and Lance Berkman’s aging legs. Adding an unknown name like Lynn to the mix was a sharp bettor’s wet dream. He’s got a great mix of fastballs and off-speed pitches and is getting consistent run support to the tune of 7.67 – eighth best in the bigs. Teams will catch up a bit as they get more tape on Lynn, but he’s got a terrific team and solid bullpen backing him up.
Ricky Nolasco, Miami Marlins (3.81 units)
Things got a little blown out of proportion down in South Beach before the season even began. The Marlins, with a new name and new look, were being hyped as National League sleepers, bringing in big-name arms Mark Buehrle, Carlos Zambrano, and closer Heath Bell. That may have played a part in their costly start to the year, going 9-14 and burning up 7.37 units. Through it all, Nolasco has emerged as the one consistent factor in a bumpy beginning for Miami.
The right-hander, who has been with the Fish since 2006, is 3-0 through five starts, including a seven-inning, one-run gem in a 2-1 win over the Giants Tuesday. The lack of run support has plagued the Marlins’ starters, who have a combined 3.48 ERA. Nolasco has actually helped his own cause, hitting .250 with three hits and one RBI. That may not seem all to impressive, but when your club is batting just .227, every little bit helps.