Baltimore Orioles Could Be The Team To Bet On In 2011

Baseball bettors are eating up moneylines, early this season and underdog bettors pounding against Tampa Bay and Boston have been laughing all the way to the bank. But don’t forget the bevy of season prop bets available at sportsbooks tracked by OddsShark.com, which continue to show good value despite a week’s worth of early surprises.

Season win totals are a popular form of season prop wagering, and with the season barely a week old there are already angles bettors can exploit. Ditto opportunities to take a shot at predicting whether Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit will be a single, double, triple or homer and other fun wagers.

One number that jumps off the board is the Baltimore Orioles’ season win total of O/U 76.5. The Orioles went only 66-96 SU in 2009, but there’s a whole new attitude at Camden Yards after Baltimore went 5-1 in its first six games.

The Orioles are also 3-1 as a moneyline underdog, which is their situation again at home today against 6-0 Texas. Look, we’re not predicting miracles, but the O’s have what it takes to play ‘over’ their season win total if their young arms can hold the fort. Buck Showalter led Baltimore to a 34-23 SU record to finish last season after taking over on July 29 – that’s a 97-win pace – putting them second behind Philadelphia during that stretch.

The Orioles added four key bats in the offseason in Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Reynolds, Derrek Lee, and J.J. Hardy, and Brian Roberts is healthy. Nick Markakis is hitting his prime, and Matt Wieters and Adam Jones have the talent to put up breakout seasons.

(For updated info on all the MLB action, check out SB Nation’s lines partner Odds Shark).

Guerrero figures to hit his share of long balls in Baltimore, but he doesn’t headline the odds list for most home runs this season. That honor belongs to Adam Dunn, who is priced as a +500 favorite to smack the most dingers in 2011 after getting traded to the White Sox over the winter.

Dunn – recent appendectomy and all – could very well lead baseball, but there’s better value further down the list. Early-season leader Mark Teixeira is set at +700, but why not Albert Pujols (+800)? Pujols is the best hitter in the game and he was second overall with 42 big flies last season.

Adrian Gonzalez (+900) is a sharp wager now that he’s in Boston, where he’ll be playing in a series of hitter-friendly parks in the American League East. The former Padre hit 31 last season in San Diego and the pitcher-friendly National League West, and he’ll also be protected in the order with the Red Sox.

Prince Fielder (+1000) and Joey Votto (+2000) are also worth handicapping ahead of Jose Bautista (+1500), who stunned the baseball world with 52 homers last season. Fielder is in a contract year after launching 32 bombs last year, while defending NL MVP Votto was sixth across MLB with 37 jacks in 2010.

Live odds, matchups, MLB lines and more every day, visit Odds Shark.