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Since the first time you could bet on baseball, it was abundantly clear the controlling factor of each game was the starting pitcher for each team. No game started until they threw the baseball. That is true for every at-bat in every game.
Over the last decade or more, the importance of the starting pitcher has dwindled thanks to how teams use them today. Most starting pitchers have pitch count in the 90s and those with lesser skill are seldom afforded a third time through the opposing batting order.
For long-time baseball bettors, this is viewed as a decline in the sport, because “manly” pitchers used to throw complete games and it was a badge of excellence to last into the eighth inning of a start.
But here is the thing: as the game has changed, so has the betting aspects at online sportsbooks. Let’s go on record as saying that knowing everything about the starting pitcher has never been more important if you are betting on baseball in your first year or fifth decade.
Find Your Niche and Run with It
Forever, betting baseball was about the money line, run line, and totals. All of those are still applicable today. However, the betting options have multiplied and MLB bettors, young to old, can find something to become very skilled at and make money on wagering.
Traditional Baseball Betting Using Starting Pitchers
This method continues to be the largest segment of baseball betting. When researching starting pitchers, you still want to know basics like these:
- ERA and WHIP
- Innings Per Start
- Strikeouts per inning and strikeout and walk Ratios
- Recent success and failures over 3-5 starts
- Home and road differences
- Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team
Every baseball bettor will view these differently and might add or subtract from this list. Let’s be honest, most bettors have or will spend less than an hour a day going through the 15 daily pitching matchups because this is not their job.
Do they like betting and want to win? Of course. Yet, life happens and there are more pressing matters, so using this as a starting guide is not wrong.
Here is the next step in the learning process for those more interested in deeper knowledge, and developing a more sophisticated approach.
Using Baseball Pitching Analytics
The term “analytics” has gotten a negative connotation and in some ways has deserved it as how it was presented to the masses. It changed traditional views of all sports and we understand most people are adverse to change. At the same time, it had a “know-it-all quality” that turned many people off. While the information was often useful, it was not the end all to be all.
Nevertheless, the more open-minded person betting baseball began to see aspects to enhance knowledge and find ways to utilize the info that could provide potential betting edges. This method needed time to develop but once understood for what it taught the individual, it became more valuable.
Today, those with the time and having gone through the trial and error process, look at intel like this for starting hurlers:
- Exit velocity
- Balls hit on the barrel (of the bat)
- Hard Hit Balls (95 or more MPH and Volume of them)
- Batting Average of Balls in Play (BAPIP)
- Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP)
Every one of these individual segments explains how a pitcher is fooling hitters or being hit hard. They can also be a precursor to pitching better or worse in coming starts by what they reveal.
These are acquired skills that take time to learn. If you as the bettor can learn something you didn’t know and create a better understanding of the value, you have an edge in wagering.
Open Your Betting Horizons
There is a brand new world of betting potential that is eye-opening and can further build any bankroll if utilized properly.
At many sharp sportsbooks, you can bet on these options:
- 1st 5 Innings
- Pitcher Props (5 to 10 options)
- 1st Inning Over/Under 0.5 Runs
With these variables, you have more choices to investigate ways to win. Does that mean you have to learn more? No, but you can if you want.
You can eliminate those pesky bullpens by using the 1st 5 Innings.
Pitcher props allow you to choose a skill like Strikeouts a Start (Over/Under) or the Number of Outs per start (Over/Under). And for those that love immediate results, and you have two stud pitchers, betting Under 0.5 runs for the first inning is a fun wager.
Figuring out who has the best-starting pitcher has always mattered. Now you have more tools for the modern game and ways to win!
