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PHOENIX — We are now less than a week away from opening day, no better time to put some money down on the 2018 baseball season. One way to gamble is on the Dodgers prop bets, determined here by Bovada.
Clayton Kershaw has his over/under prop bets set at a 2.20 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 17½ wins and 235½ strikeouts. On its face, betting the under on a 2.20 ERA seems ridiculous but then again Kershaw’s 2.31 ERA in 2017 was the only time in the last six years he’s been above 2.13.
Which brings us to pet stat time: Over his last 189 starts, covering 1,329⅓ innings and dating back to July 7, 2011, Kershaw’s ERA is 1.99. Kershaw’s preseason prop bet ERA hasn’t been lower than 2.25 for the the last five years. He hit the under in three of the previous four years.
Clayton Kershaw preseason ERA prop bets
| Year | ERA prop bet | Actual ERA |
|---|---|---|
| Year | ERA prop bet | Actual ERA |
| 2014 | 2.25 | 1.77 |
| 2015 | 2.20 | 2.13 |
| 2016 | 2.20 | 1.69 |
| 2017 | 2.10 | 2.31 |
| 2018 | 2.20 | TBD |
Kershaw has averaged 232 strikeouts for the last seven years but in the last two seasons struck out 172 and 202 while sidelined both years with back injuries.
Cody Bellinger has lofty expectations in his sophomore season, with Bovada setting his over/under marks at 37½ and 100½ RBI.
Bellinger set a National League rookie record with 39 home runs in 2017, a season in which he spent the firs three weeks in the minors. He turns 23 in July, making this his age-22 season in baseball parlance. In major league history the only two players with two seasons of 35 or more home runs through their age-22 campaign are Eddie Mathews and Alex Rodriguez.
Bovada set the over/under bets for Corey Seager at a .300 batting average, 26½ home runs and 84½ RBI. He batted second in all 135 starts in 2017 and manager Dave Roberts has been adamant this spring that he wants to maintain Chris Taylor in the leadoff spot and Seager second this season. Seager drove in 77 runs last season and 72 runs in 2016.
If Seager were to hit the over on home runs, he would likely set the Dodgers record for most home runs as a shortstop in one season. His 26 home runs in 2016 are the current mark. Seager, who hit 22 home runs in 2017, has two of the three seasons in franchise history of 20+ home runs by a shortstop.
Other Dodgers prop bets from Bovada
- Yasiel Puig: 25½ home runs, 75½ RBI
- Yasmani Grandal: 17½ home runs
- Taylor: 16½ home runs
- Kenley Jansen: 40½ saves
- Alex Wood: 12½ wins
- Kenta Maeda: 12 wins
- Rich Hill: 10½ wins