When the 2011 online sports betting season opened, everybody around the league knew that the St. Louis Cardinals' chances to make the playoffs would be tied to the play of pending free agent slugger Albert Pujols. A perennial MVP candidate, Pujols had paved the way for St. Louis the past few seasons with his impressive numbers, and became a poster child for the game by staying away from the illegal substances that had plagued the sport for over a decade. But with the Cardinals competing for the top spot in the National League Central division alongside the Cincinnati Reds, it is another slugger that is leading the way in Matt Holliday, whose .373 batting average is the best in baseball.

Halladay has hit five home runs and 13 doubles with 28 RBI, just ahead of Toronto Blue Jays' outfielder Jose Bautista at the top of the league in the final weeks before the Preakness Stakes betting race. Holliday is trailed closely by another Cardinals' slugger, but again there may be some surprise that it is not Pujols in that spot. Veteran Lance Berkman hit .344 through his first122 trips to the plate, with the second-most home runs in the league at 11. Berkman's 34 RBI were the most in the NL at that time, and as long as he continues to produce St. Louis will be in the running for a division title, with two unlikely heroes leading the way ahead of Pujols in the fantasy baseball world.