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Baseball Bytes – MLB Betting Info and Tips – May 16, 2025

Doug Upstone / May 16, 2025 / MLB Betting Advice

MLB Betting Breakdown: Twins Stay Hot, Red Sox Falter & Weekend Angles to Watch

Doug Upstone is back with another edition of Baseball Bytes! This week, he breaks down the Dodgers’ pitching struggles, shares smart betting angles for this weekend’s matchups, and highlights the hottest player prop trends you need to know.

The Twins Have Opponents Seeing Double

Last week, we talked about the Minnesota Twins turning their season around after a 3-8 start. Little did we realize this was just the beginning. A week later, the Twinkies are the hottest club in baseball, winners of 11 in a row.

What happened? As we talked about, the everyday lineup got a few players back, and the offense has clicked at 5.3 runs a game after averaging below 4.0 RPG before this. One constant is the pitching, which is #5 in run prevention. Minnesota is one of just three squads in the Top 8 in allowing the fewest runs by starting and relief hurlers.

Most baseball fans and bettors outside the Land of 10,000 Lakes would have a difficult time naming one Twins starting pitcher and maybe have heard of closer Jhoan Duran (0.84 ERA, 10.5 Ks per 9 innings).

Keep a close watch on Minnesota, which is at Milwaukee next, followed by a homestand with Cleveland and Kansas City.

What’s Wrong With the Red Sox?

The Boston Red Sox were a wise guy pick to win the AL East with all the offseason moves they made. Ownership opened the money clip, the Yankees appeared more vulnerable after reaching the World Series. Add Baltimore, Toronto, and Tampa Bay had more questions than answers.

Boston’s offense is fine at #6, but losing the first base platoon, Triston Casas (done for the year) and Romy Gonzalez, leaves a hole at a power spot, especially with Raphael Devers unwilling to take their place.

The Red Sox rotation is in tatters with Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Kutter Crawford, and Richard Fitts, among others, on the IL. Coming into the season, this was the greatest area of concern. If they can all get healthy by sometime in June, Boston could still make a run. However, at the moment, 22-23 (-7.5 units), not looking good.

White Sox, Cubs, and Athletics: Key MLB Stats and Surprising Trends

The White Sox this week took a road series at Cincinnati to lift them to an incredible 5-18 away from home.

The Chicago Cubs are in first place in the NL Central. Despite this, they have lost four straight series closers and five of six.

The SAC/Vegas Athletics are #6 in home runs, above .500 (as of May 15), and -34 run differential.

MLB Prop Watch: Judge’s Dominance, Schwarber’s Power & Pitcher Fade Plays

With the start Aaron Judge has produced, we could do a weekly article on him just for all the ways to bet props on him. That would get boring after a while; thus, we’ll just acknowledge his brilliance in 2025.

Home run props are about catching the big poppers when they hit three or four in a week. The Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber is in one of those stretches, tied with Judge for the MLB lead in going yard. Can he squeeze out one more at home against Pittsburgh this weekend?

For pitching, take a look at starting pitchers who have nine starts yet are only in the 40s for innings. If they have walked 15 or more batters thus far, they are a good candidate for UNDER on Outs Per Start.

YRFI vs. NRFI: Breaking Down the First Inning Bet

A wager that has grown in popularity is Yes or No to score in the first inning. Essentially, for – No – you want good pitchers who don’t allow many home runs against weaker hitting or slumping opponents.