How will Jack Flaherty pitch against the strikeout-prone Boston Red Sox? Will Chris Paddack have success against the Kansas City Royals? And will Jo Adell finally break out of his slump against the New York Yankees?
Here are the best MLB PrizePicks plays for the games on Thursday, May 30.
How will Jack Flaherty pitch against the strikeout-prone Boston Red Sox? Will Chris Paddack have success against the Kansas City Royals? And will Jo Adell finally break out of his slump against the New York Yankees?
Here are the best MLB PrizePicks plays for the games on Thursday, May 30.
Flaherty has struck out 81 batters in 61.0 innings. He struck out nine batters in each of his last two starts, and he struck out seven or more in seven of his ten starts this season. He doesn't have a lot of experience against the Red Sox lineup, but Flaherty has struck them out seven times in 30 at-bats.
The Red Sox have the third-most strikeouts in the league. This makes them much more strikeout-prone than Flaherty's two most recent opponents, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both of those teams rank in bottom-six in the league in total strikeouts. Flaherty gives up runs, but he's only been pulled before the sixth inning one time this season. That longevity and the lineup he's facing will allow him to easily hit this number.
Paddack has two ten-strikeout performances, which make it seem as though he strikes out a lot more batters than he truly does. Aside from those two starts, Paddack has just 30 strikeouts in eight appearances. He has thrown two strikeouts in three starts and in his most recent start, he struck out only three Texas Rangers.
The Royals have the third-fewest strikeouts in the league, striking out just 398 times in 57 games. Paddack has limited experience against this lineup, but he has struck out six batters in 13 at-bats. Even with that impressive strikeout ratio, Paddack shouldn't be trusted tonight; this line should be a whole strikeout lower than where it currently is.
May has been a horrible month for Adell. He's batting just .141 and has been held hitless in six of his last seven games. So why trust a player who is in the middle of such a horrible slump? Because Adell has shown throughout this season that he can get hot at any time.
Through April, Adell was batting .316 and had four multi-hit games. He even had a stretch during his terrible May where he hit safely in five consecutive games. Tonight, he faces Carlos Rodon, a pitcher who has been very good this season, but prone to giving up hits. Don't expect an incredible game from Adell, but after going hitless in four consecutive games, this is a good opportunity for him to break out of his slump.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
