The 2023 MLB season is finally here and with the arrival of Opening Day comes the return of the MLB Best Bets to Fantasy Alarm. We received enough requests throughout last season and this spring to bring them back, so here they are as a new feature to your All-Pro subscription. Keep in mind, we take our best bets and betting picks seriously. We are not waving some ridiculously-built same-game parlay at you with the allure of big odds and some get-rich-quick scheme. That’s not how you build a bankroll. Sure, you can have some fun and try them out on your own, but there have been numerous articles written in recent months, like this one on ESPN, that show you just how much money is lost chasing the big odds of a same-game parlay. Maybe we dabble further into the season, but only when we are significantly ahead in units. Same with MLB player props. Maybe some down the road, but It’s too early to start throwing your money away. So for me, we’ll start with straight bets on games – money lines, run lines and some over/under picks. We’ll be smart about it to open the season and move forward from there.

 

 

MLB Best Bets for 2023 Opening Day: March 30

Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals

Something tells me we’re going to do a lot of picking on the Washington Nationals this season and for today, more particularly, Patrick Corbin. It’s still a bit of a head-scratcher as to how this guy remains in any big-league rotation, but then once you look at the Nationals roster and starting lineup, you begin to understand the need to throw any arm out there during this organizational rebuild. The Braves, on the other hand are a spectacularly-built team and should provide significant run support for Max Fried who has quietly developed into a top starter. He won’t dazzle you with strikeouts, but his command and control have been on-point. This Nationals lineup shouldn’t give him any trouble today. No value on the money line, but we’ll look to turn a profit taking Atlanta on the run line.

Pick: Atlanta Braves Run Line -1.5 (-130 on DK Sportsbook)

Philadelphia Phillies at Texas Rangers

This looks like it could be one heck of a pitching match-up between Phillies ace Aaron Nola and Texas’ newest acquisition, Jacob deGrom. Both are incredibly talented and we could see some dynamic efforts early on. The question, however, is how deep will each starter go in the game? Not only did Nola only throw 13.1 innings during Grapefruit League play, he was roughed up early and often, posting a 6.75 ERA with a 1.50 WHIP.  He’s still a great starter; it’s just a question of whether he is fully dialed-in right now. Same with deGrom who only threw 6.2 innings this spring. I think these two battle for the first five innings and turn things over to their bullpens, neither of which looks all that impressive.

Pick: Phillies/Rangers over 6.5 runs (-115 on BetMGM)

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics

The Oakland A’s are definitely another team we are going to pick on, especially here early in the season when we can still find some value. After a few weeks, we won’t see any love on either the money line or the run line. With Shohei Ohtani on the bump for the Angels, we expect a dominant start on all fronts. Ohtani looked amazing leading Japan to the World Baseball Classic title and the top of the lineup with him, Taylor Ward and Mike Trout is going to be a blast to watch tonight. The A’s are going to rival the Nationals for the worst record in baseball this season and they will probably win that dubious title. Former Braves starter Kyle Muller takes the mound for Oakland and there is zero fear of him holding even the bottom-third of the Angels lineup in check. Similar to the above Braves/Nationals game, there is no value on the money line so we’ll lock in another run-line bet.

Pick: Los Angeles Angels Run Line -1.5 (-120 on Caesars Sportsbook)

**all bets are one unit unless specifically mentioned