MLB Listed Pitchers

When you bet on baseball at online sportsbooks you have the choice of listing pitchers when you choose which team to bet on. You can choose to list pitchers and that simply means the starting pitchers listed at the time of your wager must start the game or there is no action. You can also choose to simply play the game as “action” and that means your wager is valid no matter who starts the game for the two teams. Let’s look at MLB listed pitchers as it applies to MLB betting at online sportsbooks and whether you want to list pitchers or simply choose “action” when you make MLB bets.

Listed Pitchers

There used to be a time when listing pitchers in baseball betting was almost automatic for most bettors. While it is still common for gamblers to list pitchers when making an MLB bet at online sportsbooks, it is not an automatic selection. Baseball today has become a game of relief pitchers and the importance of the starting pitcher has been lessened. That doesn’t mean you don’t want to pay attention to starting pitchers, but far too often people place too much importance on the starter and not enough important on the bullpen. Let’s look at exactly what listing pitchers means and give you an example.

Online sportsbooks give you the choice of listing pitchers and that means your wager is valid only if the scheduled starters for both teams start the game. If there is a late pitching change and someone else other than the two listed pitchers start the game your wager is “no action” and you get a refund. You make the choice of “listed” or “action” when you place your baseball wager.

Let’s say that the Dodgers are playing the Nationals and the probable starting pitchers are Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. If you check “listed” then your wager is valid only if Kershaw and Scherzer start the game as expected. If there is a late pitching change and you checked “listed” then your wager will be declared “no action” and you will get a refund. If you decided to mark “action” then it doesn’t matter who starts the game for either team, your wager will be valid. Some sportsbooks will even allow you to list just one pitcher if you want to make sure that pitcher starts the game and you don’t care about the other pitcher.

Action

If you don’t care about the starting pitchers then you can simply choose to mark your bet as “action.” It won’t matter who starts the game for either team, as you will be in action regardless of the starting pitchers. The advantage of choosing “action” is that you don’t have to worry about a late pitching change. The disadvantage is that if you handicapped the game with a big focus on the starting pitchers, and one of those pitchers was scratched, you may not want to bet the game.

There are a few things to keep in mind when talking about “action” instead of “listed.” If you are betting a run line or a total then the online sportsbook automatically uses “listed.” If either of the two pitchers are changed after you made your bet then your wager is null and void. Another thing to remember is that the odds will change if the starting pitching matchup is different. If you check “action” then your wager is valid with the price you get on your ticket and will not be adjusted if the pitching matchup is different.

There will be instances throughout the season where a starting pitcher gets scratched before the game. It doesn’t happen a lot, but there will be times when a pitcher gets hurt in warmups, develops an illness or something unforeseen happens. If you made your handicapping decision based on the starting pitchers then you will want to list pitchers when making your MLB bets at online sportsbooks. If you didn’t bet based on the pitching matchup then choose “action” so that you are not impacted by a late pitching change.
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