MLB Picks

Baseball fans can finally celebrate as the MLB season kicks off on Thursday and we have your Yankees vs Brewers prediction right here!.  Both teams have had some big changes in the offseason, and only time will tell if they’re for better or for worse. The Yankees lost Juan Soto to the Mets and Nestor Cortes to the Brewers in exchange for Devin Williams.  Despite losing Soto, the Yankees called up Jasson Dominguez, and signed Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to strengthen their lineup.  As for the Brewers, they didn’t make too many changes in the offseason, opting to bring back most of their team from last year that helped them win the NL Central. 

Typically, this would be a game where Gerrit Cole would start for the Yankees. However, with their ace sidelined due to Tommy John surgery, Carlos Rodon gets the nod to start opening day. Rodon struggled in spring training, going 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and striking out 10 in 10 innings pitched.  Last season, Rodon went 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, striking out 195 batters in 175 innings. On the mound for the Brewers will be Freddy Peralta, who also had a rough spring, going 1-2 with an 8.56 ERA in just 13.2 innings pitched. Last season, Freddy posted a 11-9 record with a 3.68 ERA and struck out 200 batters in 173.2 innings. While the Yankees will be without Soto,  all eyes are on Cody Bellinger who has been on fire this spring, hitting .423 with 4 home runs and 8 RBIs.  The Brewers lineup is well-rounded, featuring hitters like Chourio, Yelich, Hoskins, Frelick, so Rodon will need to be careful when facing them.  This Brewers team has speed and talent, but so do the Yankees.  

I think this game is going to come down to pitching, and even though it’s hard to gauge how a team is going to perform on opening day, I think the Yankees have the advantage of being at home.  Rodon has pitched slightly better than Peralta this spring, and that could be the difference-maker. Plus, the Yankees have a stronger bullpen, which can shut things down if they’re in the lead. All things considered, I’m taking the Yankees moneyline to win the home opener, making them my best bet of the day. 

Brewers vs Yankees prediction: Yankees (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable up to -160. 

A pair of AL East teams are set for an Opening Day matchup as the Baltimore Orioles visit the Toronto Blue Jays to start the 2025 MLB season. Jose Berrios is slated to take the mound for the home team, and he has seen sustained success against the Orioles in his career. In 16 career starts vs Baltimore, Berrios boasts a 10-1 record to go along with a solid 2.95 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Berrios also enjoyed a nice spring, as he posted a 2.18 ERA over 20.2 innings. He will go up against a Baltimore offense that will be without star shortstop Gunnar Henderson, which is a significant absence for the visitors.

Baltimore will send newcomer Zach Eflin to the hill, and in 4 starts against Toronto last season, the veteran right-hander posted a 5.79 ERA. More specifically, he gave up 31 hits and 15 earned runs over 20.1 innings, with 5 of those 15 hits going for home runs. Look for the Toronto offense to head to the plate with confidence. This is Toronto’s first time opening the season at home since 2022, and after a lackluster campaign a season ago, look for the Blue Jays to start 2025 with a win in front of their home fans.

Orioles vs Blue Jays prediction: Blue Jays ML (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable to -110.

It is Opening Day, and the crowded afternoon slate takes us to Arlington for a showdown between two of the AL’s best teams as the Boston Red Sox face the Texas Rangers. Both teams have high hopes this season. The Rangers won the World Series two years ago, and then last season found themselves riddled with injuries and inconsistent play. This year, they are healthy and young, with several young and promising players making the opening day roster. For the Red Sox, this is a team that added aggressively in the offseason to try to seize on a window of opportunity. With the Yankees already limping, and with the Orioles taking a step back, the AL East is open for the taking. Both teams should be in the race all season, but on opening day, give me the Red Sox on the Money Line.

The pitching matchup is Garrett Crochet vs Nathan Eovaldi. The Rangers have a healthy Jacob deGrom, but they want to limit his innings. They also have two rookies in the rotation (Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker). That puts a lot of pressure on Eovaldi to steady this group. On the other side, Crochet is an interesting case. He flat refused to play for the White Sox last season, preserving himself for the inevitable trade. He got what he wanted, and now the fireballer is the opening day starter for Boston. He should be plenty motivated, and he is altogether nasty. For me, I like Boston better in all three phases of the game. Crochet is the more dominant pitcher, Boston has the steadier bullpen, and I prefer the Boston lineup. With Duran Devers, and Bregman at the top, and with Trevor Story healthy at the moment, this lineup has pop and length. Boston should win this game and get the season going on the right foot.

Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers Prediction: Red Sox ML (-120) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

It is Opening Day, at that brings us to the only place where we are always guaranteed to have an Opening Day baseball game scheduled: Cincinnati. There is nothing quite like the Queen City on the first day of the season. It is a city holiday, with schools dismissed, a parade and tons of festivities. The Reds are the only team guaranteed to open at home, a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of baseball when Cincinnati was actually the furthest team south — and thus most likely to have playable weather. As fate would have it, the city is looking at cool weather and potential rainy conditions on Thursday…but whatever. How should we play this game from a betting perspective? My Giants vs Reds prediction is San Francisco on the money line.

The Reds have an exciting young lineup with guys like Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain atop the order. But at the start of the season they will be down at least a couple of starters with Spencer Steer sidelined and their starting catcher Tyler Stephenson down with an oblique. That’s tough when facing a guy like Logan Webb, who has been in midseason form all of spring training. Hunter Greene is set to start for the Redlegs, and this dude has a shot at a special season. Don’t expect more than 5.0 innings in his first outing, but keep an eye on him in 2025. At the back end, both teams have great bullpens — but the Reds will start the season without their closer. Again, the Reds have some injuries to open the year and I think that gives the Giants the edge out of the gates.

Giants vs Reds prediction: San Francisco ML (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Both the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals are looking to start 2025 on the right foot in their Opening Day matchup on Thursday. The Twins will send Pablo Lopez to the mound, and he won 15 games last season despite posting his highest ERA since 2019. Lopez had his struggles in 2024, but he was able to consistency put his team in a position to win games. The right-hander will face a St. Louis lineup that no longer features Paul Goldschmidt, as he is now a New York Yankee. Goldschmidt led the team with 22 home runs last season, and Nolan Arenado hit just 16 homers a year ago. The long-ball was tough to come by for the Cardinals last season, and they didn’t do much to address it in the offseason. Other key contributors such as Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbar and Jordan Walker have struggled with consistency — making it tough to trust the STL offense against Lopez in this one.

Sonny Gray is slated to get the start for the Cardinals, and he is coming off a spring training that saw him post a 12.56 ERA over 4 starts and 14.1 innings. The veteran right-hander has also been battling a recent illness, and entering his age 35 season, there are some question marks around his effectiveness at this point in time. All in all, consider backing the Twins on the road.

Twins vs Cardinals prediction: Minnesota ML (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -115.

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The Dodgers have already played 2 games this season in Japan against the Cubs, and the reigning champs have already shown they will be tough to beat. The Tigers are ready to kick things off on Thursday and will send ace Tarik Skubal to the mound. Skubal was fantastic in 2024, going 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and striking out 228 batters. He has been solid this spring, going 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA and striking out 24 in 19.1 innings pitched. The Tigers are hungry to win the AL Central this year, but do they have what it takes to start off the season 1-0 against the reigning World Series champs?

The Dodgers will be sending Blake Snell to the mound after he went 5-3 last season with a 3.12 ERA with the Giants. Snell didn’t pitch much in spring training, throwing just 4.2 innings in 2 starts, posting a 7.71 ERA. The Dodgers are loaded with talent, and last year, this team was first in OPS (.795) against left-handed pitching, something Skubal should keep in mind when facing hitters like Ohtani, Smith and Muncy if they all get the nod to start on Thursday. The Tigers made a few notable moves in the offseason, which included signing infielder Gleyber Torres and outfielder Manuel Margot. They also strengthened their bullpen by acquiring Tommy Kahnle, adding to their already talented roster. Detroit boasts one of the best high-upside rotations in the American League, if they remain healthy, but their one concern will be their lineup. The Dodgers have a significant advantage in hitting in Thursday’s matchup, but the Tigers will have an edge with pitching. Overall, it’s hard to go against the reigning champs — especially when they have already played 2 regular-season games. All in all, give me the Dodgers to win their home opener.

Tigers vs Dodgers prediction: Los Angeles ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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