Happy Opening Day! It’s a day when hope springs eternal for every team — even the Pittsburgh Pirates. In celebration of this sports holiday, here’s a smorgasbord of knowledge to get you set, including some of the best bets to make, fantasy analysis and a couple of rookies to watch.
Best Bets
Coors Field is a cozy place for the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin their MLB title defense. The 11.5 over-under is understandably the highest on the slate. Scoring is usually lower on Opening Day as aces take the mound in every city, but betting the under feels like a sucker’s bet at altitude. That’s especially true with the Dodgers’ league-best offense in town. And on the other side, Rockies stalwarts such as Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story have actually had decent success against Clayton Kershaw. No heads would turn if this turned out to be something like an 8-4 ballgame. The money line for the over is +100, which gives you more profit than the under (-120).
Even with Eloy Jimenez’s big bat gone for most of the season, there are sky-high expectations on the Chicago White Sox this season. They open 2021 on the West Coast with a visit to the Angels and are booked as a slight favorite (-112). Their offense, sans Eloy, still looks fearsome and they will be supported by one of the best pitchers in baseball, Lucas Giolito. Angels starter Dylan Bundy was a surprise success story in 2020, but the gap between him and Giolito is pretty wide, so I would lean hard toward the White Sox picking up a road win.
Underdog to consider
It’s pretty tempting to trust Max Scherzer as a home underdog against the New York Mets. The Mets have garnered all the headlines this offseason with the acquisition of Francisco Lindor and their new, Twitter-saavy billionaire owner. But don’t sleep on the Nats in the National League East. They still have Juan Soto, Trea Turner and augmented their offense with some boppers in Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber. This is not a pushover. Obviously, Washington’s task on Opening Day is extremely tough as it will have to figure out Jacob deGrom, who broke radar guns throughout spring training. But again, this is a good team with a stud-gamer-workhorse on the mound at home and at +128.
Fantasy Spotlight
Let’s stick in D.C., where hopefully Soto and deGrom, arguably the best hitter in the game and undeniably the best pitcher in the game, will face off 4-5 times. You could have made arguments for each man to be the No. 1 pick in fantasy drafts this year, and neither should have fallen past No. 6 in standard leagues. It’s been a pretty even battle through 15 at-bats: Soto has an .835 OPS and a .368 on-base percentage thanks to a double, a homer and a few walks. But overall, Soto has just three hits and four strikeouts in those faceoffs.
Rookies to Watch
There are a few. Cristian Pache and Dylan Carlson are No. 12 and No. 13, respectively, on MLB’s top 100 prospects list. Pache and Carlson got some playing time in the show last year and although both 22-year-olds will likely start in center field on Thursday, they are very different players. Pache is an athletic, glove-first player for the Braves while Carlson displayed a mature approach at the plate in the minors and could bash 25 homers this year for the Cardinals.
And don’t forget about Ke’Bryan Hayes. The Pirates won’t give us many reasons to watch them this year, but you really should see as much of Hayes as possible. A Gold Glove-caliber third baseman, the 24-year-old put together a .376/.442/.682 slash line in 24 games with Pittsburgh last year. Each of the players in this field should be stars, but Hayes already looks like one.
Note: The Opening Day game between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox was postponed due to rain. The New York Mets-Washington Nationals game has also been postponed due to Covid-19 issue.
Note: Odds in the table are updated as of 1:22 p.m. ET via DraftKings Sportsbook.
MLB Opening Day Odds
Updated Opening Day Betting Splits
| Teams | Run Line | % Handle | % Bets | Total Runs | % Handle | % Bets | Moneyline | % Handle | % Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Run Line | % Handle | % Bets | Total Runs | % Handle | % Bets | Moneyline | % Handle | % Bets |
| TOR Blue Jays | +1.5 | 6% | 7% | Over 8.0 | 54% | 51% | +160 | 18% | 19% |
| NY Yankees | -1.5 | 94% | 93% | Under 8.0 | 46% | 49% | -195 | 82% | 81% |
| CLE Indians | -1.5 | 85% | 84% | Over 7.5 | 28% | 43% | -195 | 77% | 85% |
| DET Tigers | +1.5 | 15% | 16% | Under 7.5 | 72% | 57% | +160 | 23% | 15% |
| MIN Twins | +1.5 | 62% | 66% | Over 7.5 | 21% | 33% | -107 | 55% | 56% |
| MIL Brewers | -1.5 | 38% | 34% | Under 7.5 | 79% | 67% | -109 | 45% | 44% |
| PIT Pirates | +1.5 | 8% | 7% | Over 7.0 | 13% | 41% | +180 | 32% | 12% |
| CHI Cubs | -1.5 | 92% | 93% | Under 7.0 | 87% | 59% | -220 | 68% | 88% |
| ATL Braves | +1.5 | 50% | 64% | Over 7.0 | 67% | 70% | +102 | 45% | 68% |
| PHI Phillies | -1.5 | 50% | 36% | Under 7.0 | 33% | 30% | -117 | 55% | 32% |
| ARI Diamondbacks | +1.5 | 6% | 12% | Over 8.5 | 54% | 26% | +210 | 13% | 15% |
| SD Padres | -1.5 | 94% | 88% | Under 8.5 | 46% | 74% | -250 | 87% | 85% |
| LA Dodgers | -1.5 | 94% | 88% | Over 11.0 | 24% | 21% | -220 | 88% | 90% |
| COL Rockies | +1.5 | 6% | 12% | Under 11.0 | 76% | 79% | +185 | 12% | 10% |
| STL Cardinals | +1.5 | 55% | 67% | Over 7.5 | 44% | 56% | +100 | 80% | 70% |
| CIN Reds | -1.5 | 45% | 33% | Under 7.5 | 56% | 44% | -120 | 20% | 30% |
| TB Rays | -1.5 | 56% | 76% | Over 7.5 | 21% | 50% | -141 | 80% | 81% |
| MIA Marlins | +1.5 | 44% | 24% | Under 7.5 | 79% | 50% | +120 | 20% | 19% |
| TEX Rangers | +1.5 | 8% | 25% | Over 8.5 | 23% | 46% | +135 | 32% | 29% |
| KC Royals | -1.5 | 92% | 75% | Under 8.5 | 77% | 54% | -159 | 68% | 71% |
| CHI White Sox | -1.5 | 80% | 81% | Over 8.0 | 40% | 39% | -115 | 88% | 80% |
| LA Angels | +1.5 | 20% | 19% | Under 8.0 | 60% | 61% | +100 | 12% | 20% |
| HOU Astros | +1.5 | 65% | 59% | Over 8.0 | 30% | 37% | -106 | 44% | 58% |
| OAK Athletics | -1.5 | 35% | 41% | Under 8.0 | 70% | 63% | -110 | 56% | 42% |
| SF Giants | -1.5 | 47% | 58% | Over 8.0 | 28% | 28% | -117 | 68% | 52% |
| SEA Mariners | +1.5 | 53% | 42% | Under 8.0 | 72% | 72% | +102 | 32% | 48% |
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