Zack Wheeler steps on the mound for the second time this season and faces the strikeout-prone Colorado Rockies. Will he manage to strike out at least nine batters? How will Blake Snell fare against the Atlanta Braves? Can Bobby Witt Jr. get the best of Freddy Peralta and record at least two total bases for the third time in six games?
Here are the best MLB PrizePicks player predictions for Wednesday, April 2nd.
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Zack Wheeler steps on the mound for the second time this season and faces the strikeout-prone Colorado Rockies. Will he manage to strike out at least nine batters? How will Blake Snell fare against the Atlanta Braves? Can Bobby Witt Jr. get the best of Freddy Peralta and record at least two total bases for the third time in six games?
Here are the best MLB PrizePicks player predictions for Wednesday, April 2nd.
Our PrizePicks Cheat Sheet helps bettors by comparing lines from PrizePicks vs. our daily MLB projections >>
Wednesday’s Best MLB PrizePicks Predictions
This Season: 4-5
In Zack Wheeler's first start of the season, he struck out eight Nationals in six innings. Tonight, he gets to face a team that he's struck out 10 times in 33 at-bats. He's faced eight Rockies' batters in his career, and he's struck out seven of them. So perhaps I'm taking the wrong side here by assuming he will go for less than 8.5 strikeouts.
What it comes down to is that this number is simply set too high. Wheeler struck out more than eight batters in seven games last season, so he certainly has the ability, but he's not consistent enough that his number should be sitting at 8.5 instead of 7.5.
The Rockies strike out a lot and are currently averaging 11 strikeouts per game this season. But the year is still young. Wheeler could pitch a great game, exploit the Rockies and still end with eight strikeouts. It's too early in the season to be taking this type of more than. We don't truly know who anyone is yet.
Blake Snell only struck out two Detroit Tigers in five innings in his first start of the year. Despite that, I'm backing him to ring up plenty of Braves in tonight's game. This is a pitcher who finished last season with 145 strikeouts in 104 innings. He only faced the Braves once, but he struck out 11 batters in 6.1 innings.
In his career, Braves' batters have 47 at-bats against Snell. They have struck out 19 times, meaning one in every three batters will strike out in this game. However, that number is likely higher, as the Braves are having a hard time making contact. They're currently tied for the third-most strikeouts in baseball with 60 in six games. Snell will need to pitch at least five innings in this game, but he's a strikeout pitcher, and the Braves are struggling right now.
Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one hit in all five of his games this season. However, he's only recorded two total bases in two of those games. Last night he achieved this feat, hitting a double in the third inning.
While it would be great to see this number at 0.5, we are unlikely to ever see it set that low for the entire season. Witt is one of the best hitters in baseball, and he finished last year hitting .332. Tonight, he faces Freddy Peralta for the first time in his career. Peralta struck out eight New York Yankees in his first start, but he also gave up four hits and two home runs in five innings. Even if Witt struggles against Peralta, he'll have plenty of success against the Brewers' bullpen, as he faces them for the third time in three days.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday:
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
