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Tom Bellucco recommends betting picks for the MLB slate on 8/22/2020. He breaks down each team's situation and suggests the top picks on moneylines, totals, runlines, and more!
Welcome back, RotoBallers! The beat goes on for my MLB Betting hot streak, and if you've been following me on Twitter (@BellRoto) over the past 10 days or so, you've probably made a good chunk of cash! Let's hope we can keep this roll going this weekend and beyond. There are plenty of awesome MLB games to wager on, along with some great NBA and NHL playoff action. I'll also have one more play on top of these three that you can find on my Twitter account this afternoon. Come follow me there! Let's get to it!
As I'm sure you already know know, Steve Janik and I will be sharing the duties of writing up an MLB Betting article every day of the week! All season long we'll be supplying you MLB betting articles with a few of our favorite picks for the day in baseball. Along with the picks, we'll give a little write-up with some supporting evidence for the picks, and we'll keep track of our records throughout the course of the season. You can always find my updated picks for the day as well as my running tally @BellRoto on Twitter. I'll also do my best to continue posting my picks there on my "Off Days" for this series.
- Friday, August 21: 2-1
- 2020 Season Total: 63-42
Without further ado, let's get to the picks for today's slate. Please make sure to follow me on Twitter @BellRoto, as I'll post any updates and/or additions to these picks there throughout the day. I'll also field any questions or comments on Twitter as well as in our Premium RotoBaller Slack Chat under the Sports Betting channel. Here we go!
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Miami Marlins at Washington Nationals (-260) (Game 1)
O/U: 6.5 (7 innings)
MIA: Daniel Costano, WAS: Max Scherzer
Not much to analyze here. The line is massive simply because Max Scherzer could very well throw the entire game of a shortened Game 1 in Saturday's double-header. Daniel Costano is a raw minor league righty who was selected a few weeks ago for depth. The Nationals lineup should stack up much better than the Marlins. So, what we're hoping for here is that the Nats offense has one or two big innings, and Scherzer gets locked in and can go the distance, or at least 6 frames. In that scenario, the number for Nationals -1.5 is just too tempting. So, I'm going with it despite the shortened contest.
Pick: Nationals -1.5 (-104) 1 Unit
Toronto Blue Jays (-122) at Tampa Bay Rays
O/U: 8.5
TOR: Hyun Jin Ryu, TB: Austin Slegers
Ryu looked great his last time out, though his velocity was down a tick from what we were used to seeing in LA. Still, that doesn't worry me quite yet, and he easily wins this pitching comparison against a very immature "opener" in Austin Slegers, who only has three career appearances under his belt, one in which he gave up a handful of runs in a tough inning. The young potential of the Blue Jays lineup is also more appealing to me than the lack of firepower once we get past the top of Tampa Bay's lineup. I think Toronto lines up as a healthy favorite here, and the line is too low to throw just one unit, so let's double up!
Pick: Blue Jays ML (-122) 2 Units
Arizona Diamondbacks (-158) at San Francisco Giants
O/U: 8.5
ARI: Zac Gallen, SF: Tyler Anderson
Robbie Ray and the Dbacks offense ruined a chance at a nice 5-unit sweep last night, so I'm giving them a chance for redemption on Saturday. We get an even better pitcher (in my opinion) in the young stud Zac Gallen, who seems to get better with each start. The big pitcher's park bodes well for him, while the Giants' southpaw Tyler Anderson struggles to avoid big innings start after start. San Fran continues to hit over their heads so far, and I've lost some money betting against them because of it. I'm not backing away from this stance yet, though, as I still believe this is a weak lineup, especially against a strong pitcher like Gallen. The Diamondbacks don't have a dynamo on offense by any means, but there is enough pop throughout to give them a distinct advantage. Let's get some of that money back from last night here!
Pick: Diamondbacks ML (-158) 1 Unit
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