Top MLB Picks and Predictions Today (Back Two OVERs, Astros on Tuesday)
Baseball is in full swing (no pun intended), and there's a boatload of games to bet on Tuesday night.
BetSided's Reed Wallach, Joe Summers and Matt De Saro have previewed just about every game for today's slate, but here are a few of the top picks to consider on Tuesday, with all odds via WynnBET.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Minnesota Twins Prediction and Pick
What do you get when you pair two bad pitchers with two lineups that can smack the ever-loving daylights out of a baseball?
A lovely recipe for an over! Look, both lineups are salivating to take on Andrew Heaney and Chris Archer. Let's start with Heaney.
The Dodgers hope the former Angel can tap into the talent that made him a first-round pick, but the early returns are far from promising. Heaney gave up 10 runs in just 5.1 innings of spring training work and has been disastrous at every stage of his career.
Minnesota's lineup is downright terrifying right now. Hard-hit percentage is a stat that measures how often a ball was hit with an exit velocity of 95 miles per hour or more. Six of the Twins' nine starting batters have a hard hit percentage of over 50% right now. Good luck, Mr. Heaney. That ball is going to be flying everywhere today.
But, the Dodgers' lineup is scary too. With Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner and company, Los Angeles is capable of lighting up even the best pitchers. So it's unfortunate for Minnesota then, that Archer is not even a good one.
The former Pirate had a hard hit percentage of 50% last year and gave up three runs in just a couple innings of work in the spring. I expect a ton of runs on both sides, and thus the over is the play.
Pick: Over 9.5 (-110) -- Joe Summers
Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.
Houston Astros vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Prediction and Pick
It's still early in the season, so the markets haven't matured just yet, but the Astros are being very undervalued in this matchup against the Diamondbacks. If this game was played in July with more data points to go off of, this line would be north of -200 in favor of Houston.
The Diamondbacks send out Madison Bumgarner for his second start of the year. The former World Series MVP is a far cry from his former self and struggled in his first start, pitching only three innings and walking four batters. He has lost his impressive punch-out pitch and has seen his walk rate tick up as a result.
Now, he faces an elite lineup in the Astros that is fantastic at the plate, ranking top 10 in walks last season. They have the power to thrive at Chase Field which is a hitter's ballpark and chase Bumgarner from this game. After that, the Diamondbacks' porous bullpen will struggle to keep down the Houston bats.
This game is a discount and bettors should take advantage.
LEAN: Astros -150 -- Reed Wallach
You can find all of Reed's bets HERE!
Seattle Mariners vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction and Pick
While there is a big question mark surrounding the Mariners starter for Tuesday, the White Sox will call on Vince Velasquez to make his first start of the year. I was a fan of Velasquez during his time in Philly but he never really developed into the top option I thought he would.
His last season with the Padres was his worst yet after going 3-9 with a 6.30 ERA. If his Spring Training numbers are any indication, he hasn’t left his struggles in San Diego. Velasquez posted a 7.27 ERA in four appearances that spanned 8 ⅔ innings. He gave up 11 hits, seven earned runs, and three homers. He did manage 10 strikeouts but walked five and was generally awful all around.
I am leaning toward the over. Velasquez has shown his inability to get outs over the last few years and his spring metrics are terrible. Matt Brash is the listed No. 5 starter for the Mariners and has never thrown a pitch in the Major Leagues.
With the way the White Sox are hitting, I think this game goes over no matter who is on the hill for Seattle.
Pick: OVER 9.5 -- Matt De Saro
Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE