Taylor Bicht
2 min read • March 29, 2023
Posted in
Another 162-game MLB season is upon us and a saying that encompasses betting baseball futures - “its a marathon not a sprint” rings truer than ever with each future bet placed. Looking at the numbers and seeing digits like 95, 144 etc. knowing you have to wait multiple months can be excruciating to some but futures provide great value to the ones that wait.
The boards at the big sports-books are chock full of over/unders on the important counting stats including strikeouts, RBIs and more. Here are a few injury-based futures to delve into before the new season:
The reigning World Series champions come in with a few injury concerns to big name players including Jose Altuve (thumb), Yordan Alvarez (hand) and Lance McCullers (elbow). The first sentence may indicate an under but the thing with championship contenders is they all share the same thing - depth.
Astros are built to win and go deep into October meaning they can withstand big injuries including ones that begin before the season and not deep within the playoff run. Mauricio Dubon and #9 Astros prospect David Hensley are more than equipped to handle the 2B responsibilities until Altuve returns. No one is expecting Altuve numbers from the twosome but both can sustain the position for the two months Altuve misses plus the lineup is chock full of hitters they can lean on in the meantime.
One of those hitters is Alvarez who has lingering soreness in his hand, an issue that sicscore.com advised to handle early on but is now something that can be worrisome heading into the season. Will likely play sparingly early on but as alluded to above the lineup can sustain and lean on their big hitter like Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker until Alvarez can go everyday.
McCullers is the last big injury question but one we believe to be inconsequential to the Astros title hopes. Houston has moved on from Justin Verlander (Mets) but have enormous depth and top prospect Hunter Brown ready to eat the leftover innings. Although big names on the roster are hampered, expect them to push through fluidly.
It's mind boggling that a team spending over 217 million on payroll can carry such a lightly talented roster but here we are 2023 Dodgers. As we talked about with Houston, depth is key when taking on unexpected, key injuries and this is a trait Los Angeles does not possess.
Stud starting pitcher Walker Buehler and promising infielder Gavin Lux are out for the year leaving glaring holes in both areas. Lux suffered a torn ACL spring training and unfortunately with how late the injury occurred the incoming reinforcements are poor. Dodgers will need to rely on players like Miguel Vargas and Miguel Rojas in the infield on a regular basis, something that is unlikely to capture a title.
The second glaring hole is pitching with Buehler OFS leaving the rotation slim to start. Tony Gonsolin enjoyed a tremendous season in 2022 losing just once in 24 starts. Regression was already in the cards for him and now he begins the season on IL (ankle). Outside of star SP Julio Urias, names like Clayton Kershaw (old and chronic injury history), Dustin May (first year back from TJ surgery) and Noah Syndergaard (chronic injury history) do not instill confidence of lasting a full season.
This is a team that expects 95 plus wins a year just by the players they bring in every year to stop gap positions using their big bank through free agency/trade - see J.D. Martinez, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner trade from July 2021. However the 2023 season is coming too soon for the Dodgers and injuries will likely prevent them from replicating past years success.
The next three props are tied heavily to our article highlighting players to draft despite past injury issues. More info on both players can be found here.
As highlighted in the article above we at sicscore.com have no issues with Correa going forward. The stud avoided the acclimation to a new team issue staying in the friendly confines of Target Field.
The SS can bat at the top or heart of the lineup and produce with ease. Contact hitting has never been an issue for the former Astro and 2023 should be no different. Correa has gone over 145 hits in back to back years including his first year in Minnesota. With no limitations in playing time expect a big year for the Twins shortstop.
Every year at sicscore.com we like to plant a flag on players we deem destined for big seasons or down years based on the analysis from our panel of docs and information readily available to the public. Players like Saquon Barkley (up) and Lonzo Ball (down) are recent flags in the many sports we cover and in MLB the flag is Ronlad Acuña.
The article above highlights the reasoning for his expected emergence including this being the second year of the ACL tear. After hitting career low it would not be surprising if he responds with a career high in 2023. The skies the limit at the dish for a healthy Acuña and paired with a much healthier Braves lineup, the OF will be provided with countless opportunities to stuff the stat sheet.
This is the sicscore.com darkhorse team of 2023 to make the playoffs and it all hinges on the health of new free agent Jacob deGrom. His health has been a tabloid special in NY but with a healthy offseason and new scenery, deGrom has the potential and power to turn an entire team around. His addition has skyrocketed the Rangers to 3rd overall in Starting Pitcher positional ratings, according to Fan Graphs.
If he can stay healthy, which is a big if, 82 wins seems meager combined with a batting lineup that includes Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia.
Written by Taylor Bicht
