Ralph Michaels Betting Picks, Futures, & Predictions

All Plays

Picks pending, please check back later

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College Football opens August 29
NFL kicks off September 9
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Downloads

2026 NFL PRESEASON GUIDE, PLUS…..RALPH'S NFL SCHEDULE GUIDE & THE GOLD SHEET 2025 NFL LOGS!

TWO GUIDES IN ONE PLUS THE GOLDSHEET 225 NFL/CFB LOGS - INCLUDING:

7 years of logs & 10 years of HC, OC's & DC's!

QB rotations with stats plus preseason QB stats the L2Y!

Preseason team stats the L2Y!

The NFL Regular Season Schedule Guide with team-by-team and week-by-week breakdowns!

The 2025 Gold SHeet NFL logs with 1Q, 1H, and full game ATS and O/U records

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These week 0 and week #1 lien and totals were taken from OddsLogic on Friday, May 29th.
These week 0 and week #1 lines and totals were taken from OddsLogic.com, on Friday May 29th.
They are from BetOnLine.com.

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First-Inning Report for Friday, August 28th

The WagerTalk First Inning Report from Ralph Michaels is your daily cheat sheet for YRFI/NRFI betting.

Full game lines and totals with teams that scored in the first inning (and who gave one up)

Current streaks (3+ straight 1st inning results highlighted)

Starting pitchers listed — Lefty indicators included
* shows which teams faced a lefty

* Day games are in yellow

From trend chasers to prop hunters, this chart is built for quick-glance insights and actionable info.

Updated every morning with the freshest MLB data — only at WagerTalk!

PLUS…..RALPH LOADS A FREE FIRST INNING PLAY DAILY BY NOON ET M-F AND BY 11 AM ET SAT & SUN ON HIS HOME PAGE - WT.BUZZ/RM

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THE 2026 DRAFT GUIDE - WHAT EACH CFB LOST

Analyzing the NFL Draft in terms of how much it helps each NFL team is vital—but just as important (if not more) is how much each CFB program lost.

Ralph’s exclusive weighted grading system.

THE VALUE OF EACH CFB PLAYER DRAFTED

First Round: Top 9 (8 pts), Picks 10-20 (7 pts), Rest of round #1 (6 pts)

Round #2: 5 points, Round #3: 4 points, Round #4: 3 points

Round #5: 2 points and Round #6 & Round #7: 1 point

>> Get the draft sorted alphabetically and by points lost.
>> Most points lost in the L5Y

~~$4.99~~ $0.00 | Add to Cart

Free Picks

Sport

Game Selection

Game Time

MLB

(969) Baltimore Orioles at (970) Athletics: Total

9:40pm EDT - Aug 28/2026

THE PLAY: First Inning Under 0.5 (-115) Brandon Young (RHP), Undecided (HP) Must Start

(969) Baltimore Orioles at (970) Athletics: Total

First Inning Under 0.5 (-115) Brandon Young (RHP), Undecided (HP) Must Start

This is only a play if Lopez starts for the A's

Young is 4-0 & 16-6 NRFI with a 3.72 ERA

Lopez is 15-3 NRFI with a 4.98 ERA, with a 2.10 ERA in his L6 starts

Baltimore is 4-1 NRFI and 6-1 NRFI away

The A’s have failed to score a first inning run in 7 straight games

WagerTalk TV

Last 20

Date

Sport

Pick

Result

Aug 27

MLB

(903) Milwaukee Brewers at (904) New York Mets: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-150) Jacob Misiorowski (RHP), Sean Manaea (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 27

NFL

Las Vegas Raiders -162
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 26

MLB

(977) Boston Red Sox at (978) Miami Marlins: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-130) Sonny Gray (RHP), Ryan Gusto (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 26

MLB

(979) Baltimore Orioles at (980) St. Louis Cardinals: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-122) Kyle Bradish (RHP), Michael McGreevy (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 25

MLB

(921) Cleveland Guardians at (922) Los Angeles Angels: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-150) Gavin Williams (RHP), Walbert Urena (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 24

MLB

(967) Boston Red Sox at (968) Miami Marlins: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (100) Ranger Suarez (LHP), Sandy Alcantara (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 23

MLB

(913) Toronto Blue Jays at (914) New York Yankees: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-130) Jose Soriano (RHP), Carlos Rodon (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 23

NFL

Tennessee Titans -4.5 (-107)
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 22

MLB

(961) Toronto Blue Jays at (962) New York Yankees: Total Under 0.5 (-160) Dylan Cease (RHP), Ryan Weathers (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 22

NFL

Indianapolis Colts -3.5 (-108)
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 21

NFL

1H Jacksonville Jaguars +0.5 (-117)
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 21

MLB

(909) Pittsburgh Pirates at (910) Los Angeles Dodgers: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-130) Bubba Chandler (RHP), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 20

MLB

(957) New York Yankees at (958) Baltimore Orioles: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-125) Gerrit Cole (RHP), Kyle Bradish (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 19

MLB

(903) Miami Marlins at (904) Philadelphia Phillies: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-120) Sandy Alcantara (RHP), Aaron Nola (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 18

MLB

(961) Toronto Blue Jays at (962) Tampa Bay Rays: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-125) Jose Soriano (RHP), Nick Martinez (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Loss

Aug 17

MLB

(905) Miami Marlins at (906) Philadelphia Phillies: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-110) Janson Junk (RHP), Cristopher Sanchez (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 17

MLB

(911) Baltimore Orioles at (912) Tampa Bay Rays: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-115) Brandon Young (RHP), Shane McClanahan (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 16

MLB

(961) Milwaukee Brewers at (962) Los Angeles Dodgers: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-135) Logan Henderson (RHP), Tarik Skubal (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 15

MLB

(917) Baltimore Orioles at (918) Tampa Bay Rays: Total First Inning Under 0.5 (-136) Kyle Bradish (RHP), Ian Seymour (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)

Win

Aug 15

NFL

Cleveland Browns -145
(Analysis)

Loss

Consultant Bio

Ralph was raised in the home of handicappers in Cleveland, Ohio. Starting in the industry as a key member of Phil Steele's early team, which expanded Northcoast Sports during the mid-90s. Ralph's personal following grew fast, allowing him to strike out on his own as the founder of California Sports. Over the next dozen years as General Manager of Phil Steele Publications and lead handicapper of Northcoast Sports, Ralph managed the creation of some of the most popular sports betting content ever, including Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine and Northcoast's Power Sweep Newsletter. Content displaying expertise so elite that Ralph was invited into college football's most exclusive club: Heisman Trophy Voter
Ralph Michaels has a math mind, steadily searching for a value in the numbers in addition to matchup edges, situational advantages, and hidden gems of information. Ralph finds more big bets in the college versions of football and basketball, but his handicapping approach also uncovers selective winners in the professional leagues like MLB. Small conferences are particularly profitable due to mispriced injuries and his profiling of exploitable coaching tendencies.

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