MLB Opening Day Betting Guide & Primer

Baseball is back!

The return of the Major League Baseball will begin today after an offseason where there were plenty of question marks about whether or not this season would actually start on time or at all.

Get set for a great day of divisional rivalries and rookie stars down below.

Milwaukee Brewers (-190) vs. Chicago Cubs (+160); First Pitch: 2:20PM ET

Major League Baseball is set to kick off the 2022 campaign with the Chicago Cubs hosting the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs is set to face off with 2021 NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes.

Chicago’s Jason Heyward has had the most success against Burnes in seven at-bats, hitting .429 with one home run while Kolten Wong of the Brewers has been red hot against Hendricks in 31 at-bats where he’s batting .419.

Wong is currently -340 to record a hit which is the highest number in this game on the FanDuel Sportsbook. Looking at his number for two hits is where there might be some value which is coming in at +150.

Cleveland Guardians (-124) vs. Kansas City Royals (+106); First Pitch: 4:10PM ET

Prized prospect Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals is set to make his MLB debut today. Witt Jr. enters this contest against Shane Bieber of the Guardians at -210 to record his first career MLB hit.

If you want to keep things interesting, there is definitely some value in looking toward the Royals starting third basemen to hit a home run in his debut at +500. For more on the Guardians versus the Royals, click here.

Pittsburgh Pirates (+146) vs. St Louis Cardinals (-174); First Pitch: 4:15PM ET

One of the best players in baseball over the last two decades is set to make his return home to the Cardinals for his final MLB season. Albert Pujols is expected to be in the lineup this afternoon as a DH for St Louis and likely will hit in the five spot.

The Cardinals are -174 favorites on the money line today but you can get some good value in Pujols homering and the Cardinals winning at +600.

New York Mets (-118) vs. Washington Nationals (+100); First Pitch: 7:05PM ET

Tylor Megill of the Mets is set to be opposed by Patrick Corbin of the Nationals tonight.

Multiple Mets batters have had plenty of success against Corbin including Pete Alonso who has hit .333 in 30 at-bats to go along with four home runs. Alonso is +270 to hit a home run tonight which is certainly worth some thought.

The Mets team total is also currently at 4.5 and there’s likely some value in considering the over on that number at -124. For more on this NL East matchup, click here.

Cincinnati Reds (+156) vs. Atlanta Braves (-186); First Pitch: 8:08PM ET

The defending World Series Champion Atlanta Braves are set to begin their title defense tonight with left-hander Max Fried on the bump. Fried will be taking on Tyler Mahle of the Reds.

Atlanta’s first game back will see them enter this contest as favorites on the run line at +104.

Superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. will begin the year on the injured list, but newly acquired Matt Olson will start his Braves tenure at +260 to homer in his debut and +270 to record a pair of hits.

Houston Astros (+102) vs. Los Angeles Angels (-120); First Pitch: 9:38PM ET

Shohei Ohtani will make his season debut on the mound tonight as his Angels face-off with Framber Valdez and the Astros. Ohtani always presents interesting options in terms of him being a two-way player and will continue to do that in this spot tonight.

On the FanDuel Sportsbook, you can consider Ohtani and the Angels to win and for him to record six-plus strikeouts at +290, seven-plus strikeouts and a win at +480, and eight-plus strikeouts and a win at +700.

Ohtani recorded 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings pitched in 2021 and also boasted a K/9 of 10.8.

San Diego Padres (-136) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (+116); First Pitch: 9:40PM ET

Yu Darvish of the Padres is set to take on Madison Bumgarner of the Diamondbacks tonight from Chase Field.

David Peralta has hit three home runs off Darvish in 20 at-bats and has recorded an average of .450 over that span. Peralta hit just eight home runs last season but he has as good a chance as anyone in this Arizona lineup to go long tonight and you’re getting great value at +600.

Player to keep an eye on 

Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs will make his MLB debut today after signing a five-year deal with the Cubs worth 85 million dollars.

The Japanese star hit 38 home runs for Hiroshima of the Japan Central League last season. Suzuki currently boasts the highest odds to take home the NL Rookie of the Year award at +350.

For more on the upcoming MLB season check out our 2022 Betting Primer.

All MLB odds are brought to you by FanDuel.