MLB Futures Bets: DraftKings Sportsbook Best Bets for the 2022 season

As Opening Day approaches, I wanted to use this spot to post the futures bets I’m on this upcoming MLB season. Now, some of these bets, quite frankly, will be useless at this time. As you’ll see, for example, one of my bets is the under Oakland Athletics win total at 78.5. That line is no longer available and never will be again. So why talk about it? If anything, I hope it can help educate and start getting you in the groove of thinking of these types of bets and reacting to the news quickly. Nonetheless, let’s go over where I am thus far.

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Home Run Matchbet:
Ronald Acuna Jr (-120) vs. Juan Soto (+100)

DraftKings Sportsbook has a plethora of bets you can make before a pitch is even thrown. This is one of the more unique ones you can take, as it pits two players together and whoever hits the most home runs of the two, wins. Simple. This matchup features two of the younger, more prolific players not just in the National League East but in all of Major League Baseball. Getting Soto at +100 feels way too good to pass up and quite frankly, I’m not passing up.

So, the most glaring reason I like this bet is that YOU’RE GETTING ALMOST A MONTH HEAD START WITH SOTO!!!!!!!!!!!

The latest injury update with Acuna is that he’s expected to debut in the first week of May From there, the Braves will implement a hybrid outfield/designated hitter role as they ease him back into action. Don’t forget, Acuna is coming off a torn ACL in his right knee, so the Braves are in no position to push him back early, especially this early in the season.

Now, one can say that Soto only hit 29 home runs last season. I mean, hell, in the first half of the season, Soto only hit 11. A big reason for this was that opposing teams didn’t have to pitch to him. The Nationals had no one to protect Soto. Sorry, Josh Bell, you weren’t that guy, especially in the first half of the season. In the first half, Bell slashed .245/.310/.446 with a .323 wOBA and a 99 wRC+. Now, the Nationals took full advantage of the universal DH and brought on Nelson Cruz. He’ll add the much-needed protection Soto lacked last season and teams will be forced to pitch to him. With those factors in mind, I’ll take Soto at +100 10 times out of 10.

Oakland Athletics u78.5 wins -110

This was always going to be a play that I had in mind this season. It just came a bit more quickly than I anticipated. We heard rumblings that the A’s were preparing to sell off almost all of their valuable assets this coming offseason. Of course, with the lockout, which was dumb and annoying, this stopped everything and nothing transpired (for obvious reasons). I wasn’t ready to fire off until the first domino fell and that’s what happened on March 14th. The A’s and Braves agreed to a trade that would send All-Star first baseman Matt Olson to the Braves for a haul of prospects, including the once-prized outfielder, Christian Pache. This was the move I needed to see to know the A’s were following through with a fire sale. After this trade, The A’s would go on to trade Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays. Subsequently, after the trades of Olson and Chapman, the win total for the A’s have plummeted to 70.5 wins. In just over two weeks since I tweeted out the under, this win total has gone down eight games. We very rarely get that much of a difference and I’m stoked for that 78.5 number. Should I mark this as a “W” now or nah?

Seattle Mariners +650 to win the American League West

Once again, if you got this number early, you got some solid value. As I write this on March 28th, the Mariners to win the division has slid down to +450 but I STILL THINK THAT IS A GOOD BET TO MAKE.

I know, a bet you can actually use for once!

The Mariners priced as the third-best team in this league is laughable. The Angels are slightly ahead of them at +400 and that is a head-scratcher. The Angels haven’t added much this offseason with the exception of Noah Syndergaard, who has pitched a total of two innings over the past two seasons. Naturally, this is a high upside signing but they also forked over $21 million in the process (not my money, don’t care). The rest of the rotation, aside from Shohei Ohtani, has plenty of question marks. The lineup, aside from their top hitters of Ohtani and Mike Trout, could really struggle to get on base. If the Angels end up running with a combination of Jared Walsh, Anthony Rendon, Max Stassi, Brandon Marsh, Jo Adell, Matt Duffy and David Fletcher, we have some big holes in this lineup. Of these players, no one exceeded a WAR of 2.9 (Stassi), a wOBA of .357 (Walsh), an ISO of .232 (Walsh) and a wRC+ of 127 (Walsh). These players also provide very little power, as four of them had an ISO of .143 or less (Rendon, Marsh, Duffy and Fletcher).

The Mariners have been one of the busiest teams this offseason and are leaps and bounds a better team than last year. Before the lockout began, they acquired 2B/OF Adam Frazier in a very underrated move. They then made a massive splash by signing the reigning Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray (MY DUDE) to a five-year contract, giving them a power lefty to add to the rotation. When the lockout ended, they made a massive trade with the Reds, grabbing OF Jessie Winker and 3B Eugenio Suarez. With the A’s selling off and the Mariners scooping up names, the odds shifted and now the Mariners are +450. I’d still be very interested in this and would recommend taking this. If you want to play it a bit safer and at least grab the Mariners to simply make the playoffs, DraftKings Sportsbook currently has them at +175. Don’t forget, this season, playoffs are expanding. Starting in 2022, 12 teams will make the playoffs in total.

Other MLB futures I’ve taken :

-Reds u79.5 -115
-Hunter Renfroe u31.5 Home Runs -110
-Matt Olson Home Run Leader +1400
-Juan Soto o35.5 Home Runs -110
-SEA Mariners v DET Tigers Regular Season Wins Matchbet Mariners -6.5 (+105)

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All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.

The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment.

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