Nice to get that first one with Minnesota on Opening Day. You may notice I don’t have a record at the footer today. Truth is, I don’t bet all of these games so I’m using Twitter to share only those that I do (all sports, write-up or not). @evanpettys_bets began 0-0 on Opening Day.
Every pick I share here at SBL is at least a lean though. I’m not leading anybody into Shelob’s Lair.
On to the Tigers and White Sox.
Free Pick
Matty Boyd
Chicago wasn’t ready for baseball so soon. Rain postponed games on Monday and Wednesday and the Tigers won on the Tuesday in between. One game has been re-scheduled as part of a doubleheader next month and I’m not sure about the other.
What’s curious is why Jim Leyland has either skipped or pushed back Jordan Zimmermann, who was supposed to start against James Shields yesterday. It’s hard to imagine the Tigers would have planned let him start the second game of the season if they were concerned about his health. Perhaps he’s just more comfortable at home, where the Tigers host the Red Sox through the weekend.
It creates an opportunity for us, though, because I am concerned about JZ. He didn’t pitch well off of the DL late last season or in Spring Training a month ago. The Tigers should hit Shields and hit him hard (did you know he had a -1.9 WAR in 22 starts for Chicago last season?) but for some reason I couldn’t pull the trigger on the over.
Matthew Boyd is our new angle. Toronto traded him two starts into his Big League career in 2015 to get David Price and he’s found something that works in Detroit. His numbers from last year aren’t great and most of the attention he could get goes to Michael Fulmer anyway, but I see a guy in Boyd who knows how to pitch and has room to grow. I look forward to seeing how he’s improved since last season and if he’s commanding on a higher level, he will be exceedingly back-able in the short term.
That said, he wants to keep the guys around Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu calm. Those two will be tough outs but he can manage the youngsters. You’ll see this one on Twitter later.
Free Pick: Detroit -125
american league central • chicago white sox • detroit tigers