NBA Postseason Best Bets (5/3)
Alex Christenson
Opening Day is right around the corner, less than two weeks away from the time of me writing this, and that means spring is in the air and the excitement of a new MLB season is at a high.
With Prediction Strike, we can buy and sell players stocks much like the actual stock market, and in doing so we are able to create portfolios. However, unlike DFS or sports betting, these can also be long-term investments. Considering that long-term angle, we can take advantage of some of the things unique to baseball, such as players changing teams at an incredibly high rate over the offseason and hundreds of exciting prospects, some of whom may even make big impacts in the MLB this season. But with the increased size of MLB rosters and players who receive regular playing time, we get increased opportunity to find some overlooked diamonds in the rough.
With all of that said, I have two names for you to take a look at over on Prediction Strike.
Prediction Strike Pick: Jesse Winker
The first is Jesse Winker, whose stock currently sits at just $2.10, as he is coming off an extremely disappointing season in his lone year as a Mariner. However, the reason this was so disappointing was because of how solid Winker was in 2021 as a Red. In 2021, Winker had a .305 batting average with 24 HRs and driving in 71 runs. The Mariners shipped Winker off to Milwaukee, where he will return to the NL Central like he was in 2021. More importantly, he is returning to another extremely hitter-friendly ballpark. Over the last three seasons, no ballpark has been worse for hitters than the home of the Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park. Winker won’t exactly be returning to Cincinnati and the Midwest version of Coors Field, but he will be heading to Milwaukee and a top-12 hitters park. Oh, and not to mention he’ll also get to play in Great American Ball Park a handful of times as well.
Prediction Strike Pick: Cristian Javier
The other name I will mention here is Cristian Javier. Javier’s price currently sits at $9.88, and I love a breakout season call to boost that price even more for Javier this year. He continues to improve each year, and already has explosive stuff. Javier features four pitches, including arguably one of the most elusive fastballs in the majors. Last year he ended the season with a 13.8% SwStr%, a 28.3% CWS% and a whopping 33% K%. These are all improvements over his 2021 season as well. For comparison, his teammate last season and 2022 Cy Young winner Justin Verlander had an 11.5% SwStr%, a 26.5 CSW% and a 28% K%. Obviously those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, but I am a true believer in Javier’s stuff, and although Framber Valdez is still in town, with Verlander gone, I think we start to see everyone view Javier as the Houston ace. Even better, I think he has a legit shot to make a run at the Cy Young this year, and that will surely skyrocket his Prediction Strike stock.
