It’s a week late due to the lockout but is finally here: Major League Baseball’s Opening Day.
The weather already has postponed two games and may affect a few others, but here are four MLB player prop picks we like from BetOnline, one of BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Thursday, April 07, 2022 – 04:15 PM ET at Busch Stadium
Albert Pujols
- Over/Under 0.5 Hits
Paul Goldschmidt
- Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases
Perhaps no city treats Opening Day quite like baseball-crazy St. Louis, and this will be a really special one because future first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols is back in a Cardinals uniform.
The 42-year-old largely built his HOF career in St. Louis from 2001-to 2011 when he had one of the best decades of any player in history and won three NL MVP Awards.
The Cards wanted to re-sign Pujols after 2011, but he took an absurd contract from Los Angeles Angels. He had a few really nice seasons there but wasn’t the same player. The Halos released him during last season and he hooked on with the Dodgers. Combined, he hit .236 with 17 homers and 50 RBIs.
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Thursday will be the first time that Pujols will be a designated hitter as a Cardinal as the universal DH makes its full-time debut in the National League.
He is 21 homers from becoming the fourth with 700 careers, but I don’t see him getting there. One of BMR’s top-rated books has a prop on whether he does: Yes at +800 and no at -1200. Pujols hasn’t hit at least 23 homers since 2019 and while he will DH many days, including today, it won’t be every day at his age.
Pujols has never faced today’s Pittsburgh Pirates starter JT Brubaker. There’s zero chance that Pujols is getting an infield hit and while he might walk, I don’t see him reaching base otherwise.
His bat speed is gone. Sure, he’ll hit a few homers this year but not today. This will be his 22nd straight Opening Day start, tied for the second-most in MLB history behind Pete Rose’s 23 in a row.
Paul Goldschmidt might be a smart NL MVP pick if his spring is any indication. He tied for the MLB lead with a .500 average this spring, going 11-for-22 with four homers, a double, and seven RBIs.
Shoot, he even stole three bases. Walks and steals, etc., don’t count as total bases, but I see Goldschmidt at least doubling today if not going yard.
He is 3-for-12 career off Brubaker and hit .310 overall vs. the Pirates last year with seven doubles, two homers, and a triple.
MLB Pick: Pujols under 0.5 hits (+110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
MLB Pick: Goldschmidt over 1.5 total bases (+120) with BetOnline
Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels
Thursday, April 07, 2022 – 09:38 PM EDT at Angel Stadium
Shohei Ohtani
- To score a run
- Over/under 4.5 pitching strikeouts
The defending AL Central champion Astros begin life without All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, who signed in free agency with the Minnesota Twins. The Angels welcome back three-time AL MVP Mike Trout after he missed much of last season with a calf injury.
However, we have to hit on Shohei Ohtani, who in some regards had the best single-season in MLB history last year on the way to winning AL MVP. On the round, Ohtani was 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 23 pitching starts. At home, he was 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 78.1 innings.
This will be Ohtani’s first Opening Day start, and he’ll be the eight different Angels' Opening Day starters.
At the plate in 2021, Ohtani hit .257 with 46 homers, 100 RBIs, 96 walks, and 103 runs scored. Ohtani should see better pitches to hit this year with Trout back in the lineup and Anthony Rendon healthy.
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Rendon was limited to just 58 games last year, and it’s easy to forget how good he was as recently as 2019 with Washington.
Remember, too, there’s the new “Ohtani Rule”: It allows him (or any player) to start a game as both a pitcher and designated hitter and continue in his role as the DH when he is no longer pitching.
MLB Pick: Yes score a run (-105) with BetOnline
MLB Pick: Over 4.5 pitching strikeouts (-165) with BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
