Dontrelle Willis is back on the odds board. Sportsbook odds on the Detroit Tigers will include Dontrelle Willis on the board as he won the fifth spot in the rotation. The Tigers traded Nate Robertson to the Marlins after Willis won the job. Willis has been on the board in the past with mixed results vs. the sportsbook online number.
Sportsbook lines on Detroit list them as a contender in the American League Central this season. They are the close third choice behind Minnesota and Chicago to win the AL Central. If they can get something out of Willis in the fifth spot in the rotation it could be huge.
The Marlins will be looking at Robertson as their fifth starter. They already have Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. Robertson had a good spring, going 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA. Detroit was not convinced though and they went with Jeremy Bonderman as their fourth starter and Willis in the fifth spot. Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer have the top three spots and will be favored a lot at the sportsbook.
You may remember that Willis was a big name vs. the baseball sportsbook odds a few years ago. He won 22 games with Florida in 2005 and was routinely favored in baseball sportsbook online odds. He has done very little in the last two years though. In fact, he has just one win since coming to Detroit in the Miguel Cabrera trade. He was better this spring though and the Tigers are giving him a shot. “I was happy. I was proud,” Willis said. “I put together a good spring. I was happy the way I’ve been throwing the ball.”
Sportsbook statistics indicated that Willis was 1-6 with an 8.27 ERA in his first two seasons with the Tigers. He has pitched well at times this spring but still has control issues. “He was missing down, he was missing close. He was making them mis-hit the ball quite a bit,” manager Jim Leyland said about his last outing. “I thought he threw the ball very well. I was very encouraged, and I don’t think that’s anywhere near close to what we saw in the past.” Willis believes he is back to his previous form. “I’m having fun, believing in myself, believing you can execute that pitch,” he said, “And if not, go to the next one, and then the next one. Don’t dwell on something bad that happened. Just keep pushing forward.”