My first MLB pick of the season! Kansas City is coming off a sweep at home at the hands of the Yankees and look dreadful at the plate. They aren’t striking out much (actually have the best team K% in MLB) but are making pretty weak contact. Zack Greinke will go for the Royals, while St. Louis will start Steven Matz.
Greinke is sporting some pretty poor numbers so far, with most of his Statcast percentile rankings in the teens or lower. His expected numbers are also pretty abysmal – an xwOBA of .403 and xERA of 6.07, both worse than his YTD versions of those stats.
Matz has not started the season off great, but things should improve for the big lefty. His xwOBA doesn’t look great at .352, but his currently bloated 6.11 ERA should improve as his xERA is 4.38. The Royals bats present a fine opportunity for a pitcher to improve his ratios – currently 28th in MLB with a .277 team wOBA.
My Picks: Cardinals -0.5 in the first 5 innings +100, Cardinals ML -155
AndyPicks 