How will Davis Daniel fare in his third start of the season as he takes on the Texas Rangers? Will Chris Sale continue to strike out numerous opposing batters when he takes on the Arizona Diamondbacks? And can Elly De La Cruz take advantage of a great matchup against the Colorado Rockies?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for Monday, July 8th's MLB games.
This Season: 65-48-3
How will Davis Daniel fare in his third start of the season as he takes on the Texas Rangers? Will Chris Sale continue to strike out numerous opposing batters when he takes on the Arizona Diamondbacks? And can Elly De La Cruz take advantage of a great matchup against the Colorado Rockies?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for Monday, July 8th's MLB games.
This Season: 65-48-3
Monday’s Best PrizePicks Player Predictions
Daniel has started two games this season, and he's faced two strikeout-prone teams. He struck out eight Detroit Tigers in 8.0 innings in his first start. The Tigers have the 10th-most strikeouts in the league. His second start was much less successful, as he struck out just three Oakland A's in 5.1 innings.
Tonight, Daniel faces his first true challenge of the season. The Rangers have the seventh-fewest strikeouts in the MLB. Was Daniel's first start a fluke? Possibly. But even if it wasn't, we doubt he goes 8.0 innings tonight. Look for him to pitch 5.0 innings in this game, which won't be enough to get him over this number.
Sale is one of the best strikeout pitchers in all of baseball. In 99.2 innings, he's struck out 127 batters, the sixth-most in the league. He's struck out at least seven batters in five consecutive games, and he's hit double figures twice during that span.
However, Sale doesn't have great numbers against the Diamondbacks. He's struck out 21 batters in 76 at-bats, a ratio of one batter for every 3.6 tries. Earlier this season, he struck out just six Diamondbacks in 5.1 innings. But Sale has been unbelievable of late. Since May, he's only struck out fewer than seven batters in only one of his 11 starts. The Diamondbacks are good at avoiding strikeouts, but they're not ready for Sale tonight.
De La Cruz has gone under 1.5 total bases in five consecutive games. But tonight, he faces Ryan Feltner, a pitcher who has given struggling hitters plenty of opportunities to get back on track. He's allowed 109 hits in 91.2 innings, and he's allowed 12 home runs.
De La Cruz and Feltner have only faced each other three times. De La Cruz was able to hit a double in one of those at-bats. Without much history to go off of, we're simply going to go based on what each player has done this season. De La Cruz has shown a lot of potential and leads the Cincinnati Reds in home runs. Feltner is just trying to survive.
For more information on how to bet futures, check out our Betting 101 series>>
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
