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Top 3 MLB Odds, Picks & Predictions: Monday (4/22)

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The cream is rising to the top early around Major League Baseball, as two of the six division leaders entering Monday have a four-game or longer active winning streak. In addition, the second-place Philadelphia Phillies have won six straight, and the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves in the same division had also won six consecutive games before dropping their series finales against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers, respectively.

Those looking to make some quick cash and beef up their bankrolls before the NHL and NBA playoffs begin tonight have a chance to do so with a rare Monday afternoon MLB tilt between the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees.

Read on for our MLB best bets for Monday.

    Monday’s Best MLB Bets

    (Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

    Milwaukee Brewers (+114) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (-134) | O/U 8 (-118/-104) 

    The Pittsburgh Pirates have the right guy on the mound to try to end their six-game losing streak, as rookie Jared Jones has been on fire to start this season. Jones’s 32 strikeouts are tied for seventh-most, and his 0.78 WHIP is sixth-best among all qualified pitchers. Through his first three starts, he ranked first in MLB in K-BB%, SwStr%, xFIP, and Stuff+, and MLB’s Sarah Langs noted how elite his swing-and-miss stuff has been to this point.

    Despite all the success that Jones has had early in his career, the team is just 1-3 in his four starts, including three straight losses where he was provided with four total runs of support. That is an ominous sign when facing a Milwaukee Brewers lineup that ranks first in the National League with 27 home runs and is top three in the majors in BABIP and wRC+. The Brewers are 10-2 on the road this season and a profitable 10-4 as underdogs, and they should not be underdogs to a Pirates team that has been held to two or fewer runs in five of the six games during their losing streak.

    Pick: Brewers Moneyline (+114)

    Toronto Blue Jays (-112) vs. Kansas City Royals (-104) | O/U 8.5 (-110/-110) 

    The Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation had a heck of a week, leading the majors with a 1.05 ERA and ranking second in the American League in K/9 (10.49) since last Sunday. However, Toronto’s starters also had a much worse xFIP (3.29) than the actual FIP (2.41), and over the course of the whole season to date, they rank 27th in BABIP and in the bottom half of the league in FIP.

    Kansas City is four games over .500 thanks to a +38 run differential, and its lineup has performed well with the fourth-most runs scored in the American League to this point. The Royals have lost their three series against teams currently over .500, but we expect them to take this series opener behind a strong effort from Brady Singer. Kansas City is 8-11 in Singer’s last 19 road starts as an underdog, but he is 2-0 with two earned runs allowed in 18.1 home innings this year. And while Blue Jays southpaw Yusei Kikuchi leads the league in K/9 rate (12.0), the Royals are a pesky bunch at the plate, striking out at the eighth-lowest rate in the majors this season.

    Pick: Royals Moneyline (-104)

    Chicago White Sox (+150) vs. Minnesota Twins (-178) | O/U 8.5 (-106/-114) 

    The Minnesota Twins have buried themselves in a deep hole in fourth place in the AL Central to this point after losing 13 of 20 games to start the season. However, we are not writing off their chances of success this year, as the schedule has been brutal to start, with all seven series coming against teams currently over .500. The schedule could not break any better for them for the next few days when hosting the lowly Chicago White Sox, who are just 3-18 and covered the run line in just three of 10 road games this season.

    The White Sox hit a new low in their recent three-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies, as they were no-hit into the seventh inning or later in the first two games of the series. Chicago lost 4-2 in rookie Jonathan Cannon’s MLB debut on Wednesday. While Cannon is the organization’s 11th-ranked prospect, he allowed a 40% hard-hit rate in his debut and generated just five whiffs on 41 swings. Minnesota may have lost six of its last seven games but should earn a big victory in this series opener behind Chris Paddack, who finished each of the last two seasons with an xERA of 3.69 or better.

    Pick: Twins -1.5 (+108)

    Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:

    Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.