We are just a week into the 2023 MLB season, but it’s never too early to start recognizing potential storylines that could impact the betting results. One of the best nuggets to find early in any baseball season is the starting pitchers that fit the bill of potential “Big Money Performers.” Over the last two seasons, there have been 23 pitchers that have produced greater than +9.0 units of profit for backers, which has amounted to a Return on Investment of at least 30% in all cases. Clearly, finding these pitchers of note early is a key to lasting success. With that said, I will perform an exercise I like to call “Shared Characteristics” to find out which starters in ’23 are exhibiting signs of being that go-to guy for bettors.
You may recognize this methodology; I use it often for various sports. Most recently, I used it for college basketball where Connecticut’s run to the title didn’t come as a surprise to those who saw their name atop my Potential Champions Qualifier Chart heading into this year’s tournament. In that study, I used 17 different qualifying characteristics to gauge the teams. For this one, it is a bit more rudimentary, as I only have six qualifiers, but as I indicated earlier, catching these pitchers early is the key to success. In analyzing the results of the first week of the ’23 campaign, I could pinpoint seven pitchers that met all six of the criteria and a bunch of others that met five of the six qualifications.
Let’s get into the specific criteria and the pitchers best meeting them right now.