This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Bets Tonight: Free MLB Picks and Player Props for Monday, July 11
RotoWire.com's Kevin Payne has dug into the best online sportsbooks across the country to identify his MLB bets and MLB player props to target today.
I'm at straight weeks of 1-2 and so I'm going to mix things up today with four picks and see if we can get back on the winning track. Looking at the schedule, we've got nine late games to choose from (there's one early one if that piques your interest) so let's see what looks good.
Last Article's Record: 1-2
Season Record: 19-16
Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins
Here are the two worst teams in terms of striking out against left-handed pitching and the Pirates will have to face off against Trevor Rogers tonight. Rogers hasn't pitched deep into games but if you have watched his starts, he's been very unlucky this season. His FIP (4.65) is almost a full run below his ERA of 5.57 and he's been the victim of bloop/infield singles and errors which have not helped his cause. I like over 5.5 strikeouts here against a Pirates team that strikes out 26 percent of the time against southpaws and that is one of the lowest-scoring teams in baseball.
Best Bets for Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins
- Trevor Rogers OVER 5.5 Strikeouts (-156, FanDuel)
Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
I'm not thrilled the Red Sox played late Sunday night and then had to catch a flight to Tampa to face the Rays Monday night. However, they also should stay hot at the plate after hanging 11 runs on the Yankees and hopefully carry that momentum into Monday night. The Rays will deploy Matt Wisler before going to someone like Josh Fleming while the Red Sox will send prospect Brayan Bello to the mound. Bello struggled in his first outing against the Rays but has posted ridiculous strikeout numbers in the minors this season. Take Boston and to something of a lesser extent I like Bello OVER 3.5 strikeouts (-165) which you can find on DraftKings.
MLB Best Bets for Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox ML (-118, FanDuel)
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians
We have an interesting matchup here as Lance Lynn faces off against Cal Quantrill in a game listed in some spots as Even. Quantrill has allowed a home run in six straight games and isn't a big strikeout pitcher while Lynn has allowed five earned runs in two of his last three starts while struggling against left-handed hitting. Quantrill has also struggled against lefties, surrendering a .331 wOBA against them and will have to face lefty Gavin Sheets tonight. Sheets, in a small sample, has gone 2-for-6 against Quantrill with one of those hits being a home run. For the most part, I'm not a huge fan of home run props but in cases where I start to lean that way, I usually go with over 1.5 bases for plus money which is what I'm going to do here. Sheets comes into the game with two straight multi-hit games and a 1.155 OPS over the last week (22 plate appearances).
MLB Best Bet for Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians
- Gavin Sheets OVER 1.5 Bases (+125, FanDuel)
San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies
Wohoo, we get a game in Colorado tonight! Remember the part earlier when I said I didn't like to take home run props (I don't think I've touched them in this space this season)? Well, I think there's a great opportunity here with the Padres facing Jose Urena at the high altitude. In my experience this season, home run odds fluctuate the most site to site and tonight is no different. I'm going to back both Manny Machado and Luke Voit here and get my bets in early on both of these. There's also a big profit opportunity here if they both go yard which isn't out of the realm of possibilities given the Padres have an expected run total of six. Voit is as low as +185 in some places while Machado is +300 at worst. This is all about facing Urena, who got lit up by El Paso in the minors earlier this season for 10 runs in only 2.2 innings. Side note - Kris Bryant should be fine for tonight's game and has gone 3-for-4 against Sean Manaea with two home runs and two walks.
MLB Best Bets for San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies
- Luke Voit to hit a HR +240 (FanDuel)
- Manny Machado to hit a HR +310 (DraftKings, Caesars)
MLB Best Bets Today Recap
- Trevor Rogers OVER 5.5 Strikeouts (-156)
- Boston Red Sox ML (-118)
- Gavin Sheets OVER 1.5 Bases (+125)
- Luke Voit to hit a HR (+240)
- Manny Machado to hit a HR (+310)
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