Happy Wednesday RotoBallers! John, aka 'LucidMedia," back with your MLB betting picks for this Wednesday, June 16th. I hope you all have had a fantastic week so far, the weekend is almost here! We've been on a great streak over the last two weeks, and I hope we can continue this trend, and start our weeks off with a bang!
I will be doing these picks for you every Monday and Wednesday going forward this baseball season. Just to let you know, I mainly bet on FanDuel Sportsbook, and that's where the odds below will be coming from. I know not everyone is able to bet on Fanduel, so if you are betting elsewhere just make sure to shop around and find the best odds.
We have been really increasing our sports betting content at RotoBaller, and this year will be no different. Tommy Bell (@BellRoto) will be handling things over in our premium offering. Steve Janik (@stevejanik6) will be carrying the free picks on during the week throughout the season with some help from yours truly. And Kipp Heisterman (@kipppsta) brings you the Monkey Knife Fight picks. Let's make some money and have fun. but remember, please gamble responsibly! The RotoBaller team has had a great month of June on the books so far, so let's finish it out strong and make some money!
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2021 MLB Betting Results
- L7: 9-2-0 +268
- L30: 9-2-0 +268
- All: 9-2-0 +268
Miami Marlins @ St. Louis Cardinals
O/U: | Moneyline: STL
MIA: Sandy Alcantara | STL: Johan Oviedo
The Marlins meet the Cardinals this afternoon, looking to salvage game three of this set. The Cardinals haven't necessarily dominated this series, with a two-run victory on Monday and a walk-off victory last night. St. Louis will send righty Johan Oviedo to the mound. Oviedo started off relatively solid this year but has tapered off of late, carrying a 5.55 xFIP over the last 30 days into this one.
He'll be looking to go pitch for pitch with Sandy Alcantara, who looks to be heating up. Alcantara has thrown quality starts in ten of his fourteen starts this season, with his only blips coming against San Francisco, who he faced in back-to-back starts, the Dodgers, and the Blue Jays down in Dunedin. The Cardinals will likely run out a righty-heavy lineup as they've done all season, and righties can't seem to do damage off of Alcantara, who has a .407 wOBA + ISO against facing right-handers this season.
The Marlins have been in this series from start to finish despite the losses, and I am backing them with their ace on the mound today.
Pick: Marlins Moneyline (-118), FanDuel Sportsbook
Cincinnati Reds @ Milwaukee Brewers
O/U: | Moneyline: MIL
CIN: Tyler Mahle | MIL: Freddy Peralta
The Reds and Brewers meet in a battle of aces this afternoon as Tyler Mahle meets Freddy Peralta. If you follow me on Twitter and/or have seen my plays, some of my favorite MLB bets to take are first-inning draws. First-inning draws can be tricky, but if you can spot the value they're almost always worth it. It's not often that teams score runs in the first inning, and when they do, the other team typically wants to fight back early.
Freddy Peralta has been a master in the first inning this season. Outside of one start against the Phillies where he allowed five runs in the opening frame, he hasn't allowed a single run in the first inning in his twelve other starts this year. Mahle hasn't been quite as good, but still solid in the first inning. He's allowed a run in the first in four of his thirteen starts this year, but one of those occurring in his worst start of the season, and the other coming at Coors. The Brewers haven't been great in the first at home either, averaging only 0.36 runs per first inning.
I suggest taking the first inning draw instead of first inning zero runs in case of any shenanigans, but I really do like the value in this first inning draw today.
Pick: First Inning Draw (-125), FanDuel Sportsbook
New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays
O/U: | Moneyline: TOR
NYY: Gerrit Cole | TOR: Ross Stripling
The Yankees and Blue Jays go at it again tonight in Dunedin. The Yankees took game one last night, and now they get to send their ace to the mound. It's been an interesting few weeks for Gerrit Cole. The MLB has cracked down on pitchers using foreign substances, with Cole being one of the suspected culprits. He had a tough start against Tampa the other week, but bounced back in his second start post-"allegation", tossing a quality start in a win against the Twins.
He'll be squaring up against Ross Stripling, who has been extremely hit or miss this season. The Blue Jays are 4-6 in games that Stripling starts, and he's carrying a 4.68 ERA at home into this one. Stripling hasn't worked very deep into games this year either, only going 6+ innings in just one start. This is a poor indicator for the Blue Jays, as their banged-up bullpen has been fairly poor this season and blew a lead to the Bombers just last night.
Look, I fully believe that Gerrit Cole won't be the same without whichever substances he was using if any. However, I backed him and the Yankees last week as he is still a dominant pitcher facing a mid to low-tier pitcher, and I'll be doing the same tonight.
Pick: Yankees ML (-164), FanDuel Sportsbook
Be sure to give me a follow on Twitter @LucidMediaDFS for potentially more picks throughout the day!
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