Gio Gonzalez Leading The Way For MLB Money Pitchers
Starting pitchers that have been around for the whole season in MLB betting action are all working on their 10th or 11th start this week. Now is a great time to look back at the Top 5 money pitchers in the game through the first two months of the season, as teams are heading towards the All-Star Break.
Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals – Gonzalez was a steal in the offseason by the Nats, as they brought him into DC with hopes of making him one of the top, young starters in the game along with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman. Mission accomplished. Gonzalez has been a stud, going 7-1 with a 2.04 ERA, and he has a tremendous K/9 ratio of 11.53, one of the best marks for any pitcher – starter or reliever – in the game. Gonzalez has led the Nationals to a 9-1 record this year, and he has five straight dominating victories under his belt. MLB bettors have picked up a cool $807 in his 10 starts this year, the best in the bigs.
Bud Norris, Houston Astros – Norris has been one of the big surprises of the year. The Astros have been hanging around .500 for most of the season, and they are one of the most pleasant shocks of the campaign. Norris has led his team to an 8-2 mark, and when you’re talking about a team that gets the lack of respect that Houston does, you know that that leads to a great money record. Norris is +$772 on the year, but he clearly isn’t just getting luck. He has a 5-1 mark with a 3.34 ERA, and safe for a bad start this past week against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Norris has been a rock of late. He had allowed just one earned run in his previous four starts, spanning 26.0 innings.
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies have been a train wreck all season long for MLB bettors, but Hamels has been the lone exception. He has a +$760 mark in his 10 starts, and he has led the team to a 9-1 record in his 10 games. Think that Hamels isn’t worried about that big contract that he is going to get in the offseason? He is 8-1 with a 2.43 ERA thus far on the campaign, and batters only have a .265 OBP against him. At 28 years old, Hamels is probably in line for one of these mega-contracts, and if he can help pitch the Phillies into the playoffs, you know that he is going to be given just a slew of money if he can keep this up.
R.A. Dickey, New York Mets – Dickey certainly doesn’t throw the ball as hard as the rest of the pitchers on this list, but he is definitely doing the job for an overachieving New York squad. We aren’t as optimistic that Dickey is going to keep this up, as he has led the Mets to an 8-2 mark and a +$750 money amount thus far in 2012. The knuckler had never won more than 11 games in a season in his career before this year, and he has never been looked upon as a strikeout pitcher. Yet this year, Dickey has 61 strikeouts in 64.2 innings of work, including a whopping 29 Ks in his last 20.1 innings. Needless to say, the Mets won all three of those starts.
James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays – Last year, “Big Game James” had his moniker changed to “Complete Game James.” He had 11 games that we went from start to finish in his 16-12 campaign. This year, James has yet to finish anything that he started, and it appears as though Manager Joe Maddon and Pitching Coach Dave Hickey are a lot more concerned about his pitch count. It hasn’t stopped James from being great, though. He is 6-2 with a 3.63 ERA, and as a result, he has led his team to an 8-2 mark and $693 worth of profits.