Tag: Patrick Corbin

Week 2 fantasy baseball start, sit or drop: Ohtani’s rollercoaster start and CJ Abrams kinda arrives

Shohei Ohtani just needed a few extra games to warm up. Trent Grisham, Patrick Corbin and Nick Pivetta still need a bit more time.

What a wild opening week for managers with Shohei Ohtani on their roster.

The two-way Japanese star offers plenty more rewards than risk in fantasy lineups, but for those who have to designate him as a pitcher or a hitter, the first matchup of the fantasy season initially left many thinking spring training ended too soon.

When the Los Angeles Angels gave Ohtani the ball on Opening Day, it seemed like the safer play would be to keep him in fantasy lineups as a hitter. The short spring meant he probably wouldn’t throw more than four innings and the visiting Houston Astros have a lineup that can make even the game’s best pitchers look like little leaguers.

So of course Ohtani went 4.2 innings with nine strikeouts, one walk, four hits and one earned run. At the same time, he went 0-4 at the dish with one strikeout. Ouch.

A week later Ohtani was back on the mound at the Texas Rangers getting shelled for six earned runs in 3.2 innings. He struck out five while allowing two walks, six hits and a home run. And in between those outings Ohtani slashed an anti-climatic .200/.231/.280 with 0 RBI and nine strikeouts. Double ouch.

How did Ohtani respond? First he gave his bat CPR. Then he launched three home runs in two games against Texas and busted the slump as only a reigning MVP can.

Yeah, he’s going to be just fine this season. Not that there was any doubt.

Here are a few other players with bigger question marks to begin the year and how to handle them.

All stats through Sunday, April 17

Patrick Corbin’s pitch nearly collided with a butterfly in a mesmerizing moment

Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin nearly had a Randy Johnson moment.

Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin nearly had a Randy Johnson moment. Corbin threw a pitch on Sunday that nearly hit a butterfly, not unlike the time Johnson’s pitch collided with and killed a bird during game action.

Thankfully, Corbin’s throw did not end that butterfly. It looked like the velocity of the ball was enough to push the insect away from the collision. You can see the bug suddenly move away from the ball at the last moment. It made for a wild piece of video, with the ball rocketing toward the butterfly — only to see the ball break down and the bug move upward.

I. Can’t. Stop. Watching. It.

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2020 National League Cy Young odds, picks and best bets

Previewing the National League Cy Young Award odds, with MLB betting odds, picks and best bets

Can anyone prevent Jacob deGrom from winning the 2020 National League Cy Young Award — which would be his third straight? The gang at BetMGM isn’t making it easy on bettors who think not, installing the Mets ace as the clear favorite at +280.

As of 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 8, BetMGM has 10 other pitchers with a line of less than +3000:

  • Max Scherzer (+450)
  • Walker Buehler (+1000)
  • Jack Flaherty; Stephen Strasburg (+1100)
  • Clayton Kershaw (+1200)
  • Luis Castillo (+2000)
  • Patrick Corbin; Aaron Nola; Yu Darvish; Trevor Bauer (+2500)

National League Cy Young: Breaking down the field

When it comes to projecting a Cy Young winner, you try to go through a process of elimination.

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You don’t get enough return from deGrom. Strasburg is coming the best season of his career, but he has too long an injury history to ignore. The same goes for Kershaw. Opponents have a .208 career batting average against him and he has a career 2.44 ERA, but he hasn’t thrown 180 innings in any of his last four seasons, which limits your opportunities to get wins consistently.

Flaherty has talent and could be primed for a breakout season, but in 66 career starts he has a record of 19-19, which makes winning the Cy Young a spring training stretch — despite him going 7-2 with a 0.91 ERA after the All-Star Break last year. Castillo showed great improvement in 2019, but walks too many players, which leads to too many cheap runs being scored.

When it comes down to placing a wager, I would split the money between two of the top candidates that have solid return rates — Scherzer and Buehler. Scherzer is 35 so there is a concern about age, but in an era dominated by strikeouts, few are better than him. In five seasons in Washington, he has posted a sub-3.00 ERA of each of them and has an astounding 1,371 strikeouts in 1,050 2/3 innings. Last year, despite battling through back problems, he posted 243 strikeouts in 172 1/3 innings and a WHIP of 1.03 (his highest total in five years). He has all the tools.

Dodgers starting pitcher and budding ace Walker Buehler. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)

Put the other half of your bankroll on Buehler. At +1000, there are a lot of things to like about him. The Dodgers have dominated the National League West, winning the last seven division titles and leaving no reason to expect they won’t again in 2020. With concerns over Kershaw’s availability for a full season, Buehler will likely be asked to take on the role of the innings-eating ace. At 25, he is hitting his prime and, with that potent Dodger lineup behind him, 20 wins is a possibility.

THE BET: Scherzer if you’re only betting on one player; Scherzer and Buehler if you’re willing to split your bet.

Want to get some action on MLB futures betting? Do you have what it takes to pick this season’s winners before the season even starts? Place legal sports bets online at BetMGM.

For more sports betting tips across all sports? Visit SportsbookWire.com.

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