MLB Opening Day betting picks, best odds & top parlays

Can you believe it? Opening day of the 2022 Major League Baseball season is almost here. After a pretty nasty lockout between the MLB owners and MLB Players Association, we have come so close to arriving at the beginning of a full 162-game baseball season.

As we are beginning to find out final rosters, now looks like a good time to start checking out some early MLB betting odds for Thursday and Friday’s opening matchups.

Pittsburgh Pirates (+172) @ St Louis Cardinals (-205)

Mike Schildt has been replaced in the Cardinals dugout by now the youngest manager in the MLB, 35-year-old Oliver Marmol. For as nervous as Marmol probably is heading into this opening day showdown, he will have a solid cast around him with some serious experience. Adam Wainwright (40), Yadier Molina (39), and Albert Pujols (42) all have the edge in the age department on Marmol as he makes his managerial debut on Thursday.

Overall, these two teams haven’t had a ton of change from last season and there isn’t much more to hit on. This matchup is between two teams clearly in different situations as a franchise. The Cardinals made the postseason a year ago and are looking to make one last run with Wainwright, Molina and now Pujols as they are all in the final stages of their career. With all of the emotion in the Cardinals dugout as Pujols and Molina enter their farewell tour, and Marmol’s first game.

The Pirates look to be yet again one of the bottom team’s in the MLB. They have a major trade chip in Bryan Reynolds but other than that, it’s not likely that the Pirates will be making headlines this year. With Wainwright getting his sixth opening day nod, the Cardinals are the team to pick here coming off their MLB best 9-5 Spring Training record.

Cincinnati Reds (+168) @ Atlanta Braves (-200)

The Braves are going to start their World Series reign on Thursday against the Reds. These two teams have had very different offseasons. The Braves are making a run at repeating by adding Matt Olson to replace Freddie Freeman and the Reds unloaded a lot of their roster. The Reds have parted ways with names like Nick Catellanos, Jesse Winker, Sonny Gray, and Eugenio Suárez this offseason as they look to be in for a bit of a rebuild.

The Reds do have some talent either arriving at the big league level to start the season or very close. Hunter Greene is a name to watch in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation, but the Reds don’t have the talent to compete with the defending champion Braves. With a lineup consisting of Ronald Acuna Jr, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, and now Matt Olson, the Braves look to have one of the top lineups in the NL.

Similar to the Pirates and Cardinals, this is a matchup between two teams clearly heading in different directions. The Braves are the play here, even though it will be interesting to see how they rebound from losing the heart and soul of their team in Freeman.

Milwaukee Brewers (-154) @ Chicago Cubs (+130)

Now this matchup is interesting. The Brewers obviously have one of the best rotations in baseball with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes along with Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. The three headed monster at the top of the Brewers rotation is going to be a nightmare for teams this season.

The Cubs, on the other hand, have quietly put together a decent team. David Ross has proven to be a manager that is respected by his players as the Cubs played hard through a tough 2021 season that saw Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Yu Darvish dealt at the trade deadline. They made some quiet additions like Marcus Stroman, Clint Frazier, and Seiya Suzuki, all have the potential to be very good for a Cubs team that’s not expected to make much noise this season.

The Cubs here at plus odds seem to be a good bet. A three-leg parlay on the Cardinals, Braves, and Cubs puts you at +431 odds with Bovada – why not throw a couple of dollars on it?

More sports betting picks