Star outfielder Juan Soto is set to make his Padres debut after being acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Nationals. The Padres are a heavy favorite tonight on the moneyline (-300) against the Rockies, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, and there are some fun prop bets involving Soto for bettors to consider.
Below we’ll look at some of the various ways you can bet on Soto’s much-anticipated debut.
Wednesday's Rockies-Padres betting odds
Moneyline odds
- Rockies +250
- Padres -300
Run Line odds
- Rockies +1.5 (+135)
- Padres -1.5: (-155)
To no one’s surprise, the Padres are three-dollar favorites at home, as they are loaded offensively with the additions of Soto, Josh Bell, and Brandon Drury. San Diego has won the first three games of this five-game series against Colorado, which included a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday.
The Padres will have Blake Snell on the mound (3-5, 4.13 ERA), who is coming off a solid July (2.81 ERA in five starts). The lone blemish on Snell’s July resume was his start against the Rockies at Coors Field. The 29-year-old southpaw allowed four hits, five earned runs, and six walks in 3.2 innings. If the Padres want to win in Soto’s debut, they will need Snell to be on his A-game.
As for Rockies' starter Chad Kuhl (6-6, 4.59), he’s coming off a rough July, posting an ERA of 8.71 and allowing seven home runs in five starts. The veteran starter has had his issues on the road this season (5.03 ERA, .279 opponents’ batting average). This season against the Padres, Kuhl has an 8.00 ERA and allowed a .385 average. It would not be surprising to see this Padres’ offense beat up on Kuhl based on his past few starts.
Betting advice: At -300 on the moneyline, there’s little to no value on betting on the Padres to win tonight. If you wanted to place a wager on San Diego, the best route to take would be the run line. The Padres have won two of the three games against Colorado by more than 1.5 runs. However, remember that the Rockies are one of the better run-line teams with a 57-49 record (covering 53.8 percent of the games).
Juan Soto home run prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs
- OVER 0.5 home runs: +390
- UNDER 0.5 home runs: -650
The star outfielder does not have that many at-bats against Kuhl in his career (0-2 in three appearances), which might make some people hesitant to take this bet. However, he has the second-best odds to hit a home run in the game behind Manny Machado (+300).
If you were to place a $10 wager on his home run prop bet, you would win $39. It would be more profitable than betting on the moneyline or run line at $10. We do not know where Soto is hitting in tonight’s lineup, but he will either be in front or behind Machado.
Betting advice: The best move here is to sprinkle a few dollars on this prop and hope Soto can start his Padres' career the way he ended his Nationals' tenure.
Juan Soto total bases prop: Over/under 1.5 total bases
If you don't want to place a wager on Soto to hit a home run, the next best option is his total bases prop, which is also plus-money. Heading into tonight's debut against the Rockies, Soto has gone OVER 1.5 total bases once in his past five games.
However, the 23-year-old has done a ton of damage against the Rockies this season, hitting .280 (7-25) at the plate with three home runs, three doubles, and six RBIs. At +140 odds, it is too tempting to pass up, as all he needs is one swing to hit the OVER.
Best Bet: Padres team total OVER 2.5 runs in the 1st 5 innings (-130)
There are a ton of juiced odds on the board when it comes to the Padres tonight, but sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze. We are going to take a shot on San Diego's offense, which is getting an influx of talent with Soto, Bell, and Drury.
The Padres are averaging 2.45 runs per game this season and 3.00 runs per game over their past three games. The last two times San Diego has gone against Kuhl, they've scored a total of eight runs in nine innings. It should be electric at Petco tonight, as the Padres will look to feed off the crowd and hopefully jump on Kuhl quickly.
