The Houston Astros have caught a significant amount of flack for their sign-stealing scandal that was unearthed during the offseason. Several prominent players have voiced their frustrations at the Astros for participating in sign stealing and at Major League Baseball, who some think was fairly lax in penalizing the team.
That could lead to players getting back at the Astros on the field. So on Wednesday, SportsLine released three very interesting prop bets that bettors can wager on involving the Astros getting hit by pitches.
Bettors can place wagers on who will be the first Astros player to be hit by a pitch when the 2020 season begins. Jose Altuve leads the way with +300. Here's the full list:
- Jose Altuve +300
- Alex Bregman +350
- Carlos Correa +400
- George Springer (2017 World Series MVP) +500
- Yuli Gurriel +700
- Field +1000
Altuve always bats near the very top of the lineup, so he's going to be one of the first hitters that opposing teams will face this season. In addition, Altuve may be the brunt of most opposing pitchers' frustrations, since he has been accused of wearing a buzzer on his shoulder as part of a sign-stealing scheme.
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Right behind Altuve is third baseman Alex Bregman at +350. Carlos Correa (+400), George Springer (+500), Yuli Gurriel (+700), and the field (+1000) round out the players that bettors can place their wagers on. Springer serves as the Astros leadoff hitter, so that could be one player that many take to get hit by a pitch first.
The Astros' first road series begins on March 30 against the Oakland Athletics, who Mike Fiers plays for. Fiers was the whistleblower on the entire sign-stealing scandal.
Fans can also place wagers on which Astros batter will be hit by pitches the most times throughout the 2020 season. Once again, Altuve leads the way with +150 odds.
- Jose Altuve +150
- Alex Bregman +200
- George Springer +400
- Carlos Correa +500
- Yuli Gurriel +800
- Field +5000
The final prop bet asks if an Astros hitter will charge the mound after being hit by a pitch this season. Yes has -400 odds while no has +300 odds.
Considering that there's so many different routes that bettors can go, it's likely that these prop bets will be very popular when it comes to wagers leading up to the start of the season.
