April MLB update! News and Notes
It’s been a really interesting start to the MLB season. This is a great time of year for sports fans, so if you haven’t been keeping track of what’s going on in the world of baseball, take a read of our April update!
American League East
MEGALOCKS SPOTLIGHT – Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have the #1 run differential in MLB (+38) and are going to be a HOT HANDFUL this season. The Yankees and Red Sox will both make a run at some point BUT the Yankees are living through a ridiculous bout of the INJURY BUG whilst the Red Sox are -25 in run differential and not getting the pitching they need. Chris Sale needs to come around for Boston to have any shot according to our AL East INSIDERS.
From our MLB season previews……..
We feel pretty good about having the Yankees and Rays to win the division. The Jays season win total under is also off to a good start. The value on Tampa Bay to take down the division is non-existent at this point. If you think the Red Sox can make a comeback (certainly possible; it’s mid-April) you can get them at +300 or more to win the division and in the neighborhood of +1000 to win the World Series.
American League Central
MEGALOCKS SPOTLIGHT – Cleveland Indians
RUH ROH. The starting pitching is showing some holes. Kluber is off to a rough start. Carrasco has an ERA over 12.00. Clevinger is injured. The offense STINKS to HIGH HEAVEN. Signing an aging and often-crippled Carlos Gonzalez is not the answer. Thankfully Trevor Bauer looks like a legit Cy Young candidate (again). The Twins are not going to go away. The Tigers are better than we thought and while their overall talent is questionable, they are getting good pitching and are well managed, at least so far.
From our MLB season previews……..
The Twins season win total over is on track. The Tigers under? Not so much. Also have a small taste of Minnesota to win the AL (along with TB and Houston). The Indians are still a significant favorite to win the division and the value on the Twins appears to be shot for now. We can’t see the Tigers hanging around into the late summer so would not enter the AL Central futures market at this point.
American League West
MEGALOCKS SPOTLIGHT – Houston Astros
Yes, guy. They are ROLLING right now and playing like the team we think they are; The best in baseball. The Astros have won 9 straight games and have yet to lose at home. They have it all and it might be a good thing that the Mariners got off to such a great start. With Seattle and Oakland in the division it should help them stay focused.
From our MLB season previews……..
Went all in with Houston (season win total over, win World Series) in terms of the AL West. They are not invincible and if you want to take a shot against them you can still get joooocy odds on the Mariners and Athletics to win the division.
National League East
MEGALOCKS SPOTLIGHT – Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies sit atop the GROUP OF DEATH (Braves, Nats, Mets) for the time being and are must watch TV. The offense is loaded but we do worry about the depth of the starting pitching and the bullpen. Having a kooky manager doesn’t help either.
From our MLB season previews……..
We took the Braves and Nats to win the division. We still forecast a full year BATTLE ROYALE between the top four teams and will sit back and watch. The Braves have a lot of star power but questionable SP, the Mets have been impressive while the Nats have not played close to their potential. If Washington’s bullpen doesn’t pull up their socks they will not win the division. There are still fair odds out there on all four teams to win the NL East if you want to get involved.
National League Central
MEGALOCKS SPOTLIGHT – Chicago Cubs
We weren’t high on these dudes coming into the season and still wonder if they are a playoff-caliber squad. From a talent standpoint they don’t stack up with the Brewers or Cards in our estimation and the Pirates are always scrappy. The Reds are no longer a doormat. Cubbies will need to add some pitching (the pen stinks) and have their “stars” play like “stars” if they want to contend.
From our MLB season previews……..
We are positioned well so far with Cubbies season win total under and Pirates over (again – it’s REALLY early) and are happy the the Cardinals are coming around as we have a taste of them to win the division and NL. Small taters on the Pirates. We ARE concerned about underestimating the Brewers at the beginning of the season. Oops. That could turn a lot of our tickets into coasters as our boy Pauly Howard likes to say. This has the look of a division that will come down to the final week of season. If you have a strong feeling on the Brewers or Cardinals you can still get fair value in the futures market.
National League West
MEGALOCKS SPOTLIGHT – Colorado Rockies
Yikes. Our worst call was taking a strong position on the Rockies. The bats are DEAD right now and if they aren’t careful they could play their way out of this by May. The SP is good enough to keep the team afloat but we think the Rockies need to add some bats to the lineup. All these young guys that were supposed to emerge into complementary stars are either injured or not delivering.
From our MLB season previews……..
Rockies season win total over looks bad. We did recommend a small taste of the Padres and they are not going anywhere in our estimation. They have solid pitching, good veteran hitters (and one superstar) and a few very intriguing youngsters. If we were to dip our foot into the pool now we would take a small taste of San Diego to either make the playoffs or win the division. It must be said that Cody Bellinger has jumped into our top five players to watch on a daily basis. The Dodgers slugger is ON FIRE leading MLB in RBI and 2nd in HR whilst batting well over .400.
See you for another update in May!!