Tarik Skubal is off to a red-hot start. Will he continue his great pitching against the Twins? Will Brandon Pfaadt strike out at least six batters for the third consecutive time when his Diamondbacks face the Cardinals? And will Gleyber Torres break out of his hitting funk?
Here are the best MLB PrizePicks plays for Friday, April 12.
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Tarik Skubal is off to a red-hot start. Will he continue his great pitching against the Twins? Will Brandon Pfaadt strike out at least six batters for the third consecutive time when his Diamondbacks face the Cardinals? And will Gleyber Torres break out of his hitting funk?
Here are the best MLB PrizePicks plays for Friday, April 12.
Our PrizePicks Cheat Sheet helps bettors by comparing lines from PrizePicks vs. our daily MLB projections >>
Friday’s Best MLB PrizePicks Player Predictions
Record this Season: 10-6-1
Skubal has struck out 15 batters in two starts. He's benefitted greatly from facing the Oakland A's and Chicago White Sox – two of the worst teams in the league. Tonight, Skubal faces the Twins, who are averaging more than 10 strikeouts per game and scored just 29 runs this season.
Skubal has struck out the current Twins' lineup 18 times in 42 at-bats, and there is no reason to think he won't have similar success against them tonight. In his first three starts of the year, Skubal will face the three-lowest scoring teams in the league. Keep that in mind when his line is inflated in his next start. But tonight, back him to have another solid performance.
Pfaadt has almost no history against any batters in the Cardinals' current lineup. Based on how he has started this season, backing his over is the wise move.
In his last start, Pfaadt struck out seven Braves in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up eight hits and five earned runs in that game, but his coaches were willing to keep him in any way. Seven strikeouts against the Braves is impressive, as they're currently averaging just 8.4 per game. The Cardinals are much worse than that, and their lineup isn't hitting well enough yet to chase Pfaadt early. He will throw 6.0 innings tonight and strike out at least seven.
Torres had a miserable series against the Marlins. He finished the three-game set 0 for 12, getting on base just twice because of walks. His season average is now down to .192.
Torres batted .273 last season, so it's just a matter of time before he breaks out of this funk. He's a streaky hitter who hit safely in seven of eight games before the series against the Marlins. With a day off before today's game, Torres can reset and get ready to face a starter who has allowed seven hits in 8.0 innings.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
