St. Louis Cardinals Odds: Three Bets To Lock In Before Opening Day

Bet on one of the most sustainably successful franchises in sports

Scott Neville | Mar 28, 2023

St. Louis Cardinals Odds: Three Bets To Lock In Before Opening Day /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are on the precipice of kicking off the 2023 season and expectations are high.

With the Cardinals in line to make their mark in a light division, there are many ways to cash in on the team's success.

Here are the best bets to lock in before Thursday's Opening Day matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays:

All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Cardinals to win National League Central (-125)
As I just alluded to, the Cardinals will not have to battle much adversity in a tame NL Central.

The Milwaukee Brewers present a threat but their lineup is nothing to be scared of and the pitching staff could undergo some turnover in short order.

Between last season's trade of Josh Hader despite being in playoff contention and the nightmare of an arbitration hearing this spring training, it would not be shocking to see Cy-Young Winner Corbin Burnes traded by the deadline. He's in a contract year and the Brewers likely do not have the capital to sign him long-term.

The Chicago Cubs made some notable additions and certainly are on the rise but are still trailing the Cardinals in terms of overall talent. We don't even need to get into why the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds will not contend.

Cardinals Regular Season Wins, Over 88.5 (-120)
The Cardinals won 93 games last season and are even better on paper heading into 2023.

The roster has plenty of star power and should see some increased production from a core of young players that gained another year of experience. Left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery will make an impact in his first full season with the club as will recently acquired catcher Willson Contreras. Don't discount right-hander Jack Flaherty heading into the season healthy either.

If you believe in either of the last two bets, it would be wise to sprinkle some money onto the Cardinals to make playoffs at -235 as well.

Nolan Arenado Regular Season Total Home Runs, Over 28.5 (-105)
The 31-year-old slugger has a sustained track record of mashing home runs. Not only has Arenado hit this over in both seasons (34, 30 respectively) as a member of the Cardinals but he's exceeded the mark seven seasons in a row (minus the 2020 shortened season). In that span, he's led the NL in home runs three times.

Arenado also is one of the most durable players in Major League Baseball, making this bet appear too good to be true.

More MLB: Introducing FanNation's Inside The Cardinals: Sports Illustrated's Newest Page

Published Mar 28, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu