Top 3 MLB Picks & Predictions: Friday (4/24)
Baseball season is under way, the weather is getting warmer, and life is good. I'll be here once a week to provide you with the best bets across the day. Baseball is the best sport to get specific with your bets and there are plenty of angles to attack any given game with almost every day offering a loaded slate of opportunity. It's the best time of year. We had a winning week last Friday, taking some metaphorical big swings and we didn't land those but we still made some money and I plan on keeping it going tonight. Here are the best MLB picks & predictions for the Friday, April 24th slate.
Friday's Best MLB Picks & Predictions
Last Time: 2-1 | This Season: 5-7
Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals
It's not the most exciting game between two sub-.500 teams but there's still easy money to be made. The Royals offense has been quite inadequate, with the third fewest runs scored so far through the first month of games. What helps is that they are facing Yusei Kikuchi, who owns a 7.62 ERA in three road starts this year, allowing a .947 OPS. I know it's a small sample size but if you look at last year, the Angels southpaw had a 2.93 home ERA vs. a 5.04 road ERA over 33 total starts. He takes a step back away from home. The Royals counter with second-year starter Noah Cameron who has been off to a rocky start with a 5.40 ERA. Despite their 12-14 record, the Angels have scored the seventh most runs to start the year. The Royals also have the worst bullpen ERA at 6.29 while LA isn't much better with a 4.55, 20th in baseball. It's hard to trust Kansas City's offense implicitly, but this is a clear over play tonight.
Pick: Over 8.5 runs (-102 DraftKings)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs
In a preview of the 2026 NLCS (I'm a Cubs fan), Chicago travels west on a nine-game winning streak to face the mighty (second-place) Los Angeles Dodgers. During their nine game streak, the Cubs have scored the most runs in baseball with 66, 10 more than the Braves in second. After a bit of a sluggish start, it appears the Cubbies bats have found some rhythm. LA will start Emmet Sheehan who hasn't exactly been stellar with a 5.85 ERA this year, and he's been even worse at home. The Dodgers pen has been flailing of late as well so there's a good chance for some late run production if Sheehan limits them early. What's tough is trusting run prevention from the Cubs. Jameson Taillon gets the nod for Chicago, and he's been decent with a 3.97 ERA. But the Dodgers have seen a lot of Taillon over the years and the expected starting lineup has a 1.088 OPS against the big righty. Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani have combined for four home runs and eight RBI in 28 at-bats off the Cubs starter. This is going to be an entertaining game and an easy bet in the Friday night lights.
Pick: Over 9 runs (-110 BetMGM)
Athletics vs. Texas Rangers
We're gonna finish off with a bit more specific bet. Luis Severino gets the nod for the A's and he hasn't exactly been great. He has a 6.20 ERA to start the year and has a 4.76 ERA over his two years with the Athletics. Against the Rangers he's been particularly bad and there's one matchup that caught my eye. Brandon Nimmo is off to a hot start in Texas with a .304/.383/.510 slashline in 115 plate appearances this year. He has reverse splits, crushing lefties, but still putting up solid numbers against righties and he's seen Severino well throughout his career, going 5-for-14 with two doubles and a home run. Nimmo has hit a bit of a rut lately, bringing his total bases prop down, but this is the perfect bounce back spot for the lefty. It helps that the A's bullpen is sub-par and in the leadoff spot, Nimmo will get plenty of chances to cash this in. Otherwise, Jake Burger is 7-for-19 with four home runs off Severino in his career if you'd rather bet his over total bases prop instead.
Pick: Brandon Nimmo Over 1.5 total bases (+135 BetMGM)