Major League Baseball Betting: Biggest Money Losing Pitchers

Yesterday we started our look at pitchers and their relationship to baseball betting by listing the most profitable starters in the Majors.  Today, we’re going to the other extreme and listing the pitchers that lost the most money for their financial backers during the 2019 MLB season.  It’s not as easy as it sounds to make this list.  Obviously, a pitcher has to lose but just as importantly he has to pitch—if he gets sent to the minors or yanked from the rotation he won’t have the chance to lose more money for the wagering public.  For that reason, you’ll find most of the names on this are good pitchers who have had a tough stretch.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL BETTING:  BIGGEST MONEY LOSING PITCHERS

CHRIS SALE (BOSTON) -19.2 UNITS

Lefthander Chris Sale struggled mightily all year and in late August was put on the 60 day disabled list. He was significantly worse in the early part of the season and the Red Sox actually won four of his last six assignments.  Sale’s biggest struggles came at Fenway Park—the Red Sox were 4-8 when he started and because they’re such a ‘public’ team that record translates to -13.6 units lost.  On the road, he lost -5.6 units with the Red Sox going 6-7 in his 13 starts.  For most pitchers and teams, the records that Sale put up when he pitched wouldn’t be that bad but with big prices the unit losses pile up quickly.

JACOB DEGROM (NY METS) -14.9 UNITS

It takes newcomers to baseball betting awhile to learn this but you just can’t ‘ride’ a big name pitcher by laying big prices every time he takes the mound.  Case in point, Jacob DeGrom who is among the MLB leaders in earned run average.  DeGrom’s biggest problem is pitching for a mediocre team with a bad bullpen.  The Mets’ record win DeGrom started this year was 14-18.  DeGrom’s biggest losses came at home where the Mets were 7-10 in his starts for a loss of -11.6 units.  On the road, the Mets were 7-8 in his starts for a more reasonable -3.3 unit loss.

JORDAN ZIMMERMAN (DETROIT) -12.2 UNITS

Jordan Zimmerman had some decent years while playing with the Washington Nationals but his career has hit the skids since coming to the American League and playing for the Detroit Tigers.  This year, Zimmerman and the team hit rock bottom.  Detroit went 47-114 for the worst record in baseball and Zimmerman had a record of 1-13.  Overall, when Zimmerman started the Tigers went 4-19.  You couldn’t blame Zimmerman for being happy every time he got to leave Detroit and go on the road—at home, he went 0-9 with the Tigers 0-12 when he started.  His entire -12.2 unit loss came at home.  On the road, he was 1-4 on the road with Detroit going 4-7 in his starts.

SPENCER TURNBULL (DETROIT) -11.4 UNITS

Another Detroit Tigers starting pitcher makes the list, this time its right hander Spencer Turnbull.  Turnbull was 3-16 this year and the Tigers were 7-22 when he took the mound for a -11.4 unit loss on the season.  Turnbull lost more money at home this season than any pitcher in baseball other than Chris Sale.  He went 0-11 at home with Detroit going 2-14 when he started for -12.5 units lost.  On the road, Turnbull put up a record of 3-5 with Detroit going 5-8 in his starts for a +1.1 unit profit.

GABRIEL YNOA (BALTIMORE) -11 UNITS

Baltimore was also a pretty bad team this season losing 108 games.  Right hander Gabriel Ynoa had a record of 0-9 this season and the O’s were 1-12 in his 13 starts.  At home, Ynoa lost 4 units with a personal record of 0-4 and a team record of 1-5 in his starts.  On the road, he lost 7 more units thanks to a personal record of 0-5 and a team record of 0-7 in his starts.

TREVOR RICHARDS (MIAMI) -11 UNITS

Trevor Richards went 4-12 this season with the Miami Marlins going 6-17 when he started for a net loss of -11 units.  He lost -9.1 units at home thanks to a 2-8 record and his team going 3-11 when he started.  On the road, he went 2-4 with the Marlins going 3-6 in his starts for a more reasonable -1.9 units lost.