Four No. 1 Overall Picks Featured in Pirates vs. Orioles

Article ByKyle Garlett

March 1, 2024

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, US Gambling News

Early spring training baseball can, at times, be a tough sell. But not on the final day in February, where for the first time, we have the last two No. 1 overall picks facing each other in a game. And those two were only half of the first overall picks playing.

In the first at-bat between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes was on the mound to face 2022 No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday. Skenes was the Most Outstanding Player at the College World Series last June for LSU, and Holliday is the betting favorite at Maryland online sportsbooks to win American League Rookie of the Year.

It wasn’t quite Carl Hubbell striking out five consecutive future Hall of Famers at the 1934 All-Star Game. But for Skenes, it was an impressive showing. He got Holliday to ground out, and 2019 No. 1 pick and All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman and 2020 No. 2 overall pick Heston Kjerstad to both fly out.

Skenes had two pitches in the inning register as high as 102 mph, which is a big reason that — even though we don’t know when Skenes will make it to the Major Leagues — Pennsylvania online sportsbooks have him at +1100 to win National League Rookie of the Year.

Skenes’ catcher for the afternoon was 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, who made his Major League debut last June.

Holliday finished the game with two hits and a triple, Davis had two hits in three at-bats, and Skenes threw six of 10 pitches for strikes, with four of them topping 100 mph.

Giants’ Tristan Beck to Miss Time

Right-hander Tristan Beck was expected to break spring training as a member of the San Francisco Giants starting rotation. Now he is weighing treatment options for an aneurysm in his upper arm.

No timeline has been set for his return. But the expectation is that he will miss the Giants season-opener March 28th at the San Diego Padres, and maybe well beyond that. Beck’s injury is just one in a series of bad news events for the Giants rotation. Rookie Keaton Winn is supposed to be one of San Francisco’s starters this year, but he’s already been shut down once this spring because of elbow inflammation. 

The Giants did acquire former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray this off-season. But following Tommy John surgery last year, he won’t be pitching until at least mid-season.

Baseball online sportsbooks have the Giants at +195 to make the playoffs, with their over/under on regular season wins at 81.5.

Jung Hoo Lee Hits First Spring Homer

The Giants shuffling of their starting rotation will at least not affect the excitement around South Korean import Jung Hoo Lee. The 25-year-old outfielder, who signed a $113 million contract in December, launched a 418-foot home run on Thursday for his first long ball of the Cactus League season.

If Lee does show power in this, his first year in Major League Baseball, it will be a pleasant surprise. In seven seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization he hit just 65 home runs. He was signed by San Francisco for his contact – he’s a .340 hitter – and his defense – he won five KBO Golden Glove Awards.

“I knew it was hard-hit,” Lee said through an interpreter. “The ball flew low, it didn’t fly high. It got some speed in the air and then it flew away. I thought it was a double or triple.”

Arizona online sportsbooks have Lee at +450 to win National League Rookie of the Year, putting him as the second betting favorite. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the favorite at +200.