The Rangers won beat the Mariners last night and pulled back into first place in the AL West. Adolis Garcia homered in that win and I'm backing him to have another strong performance today, against Luis Castillo.
After losing two of three to the Nationals last week in Los Angeles, the Dodgers have returned the favor by taking the first two games in D.C. They outscored the Nationals 15-2 in the first two games of the series and Will Smith will look to play a part as the Dodgers seek a sweep.
MLB Player Prop Picks
After setting career-highs with 39 homers and 107 RBI last season, Adolis Garcia is off to another fast start. He's hitting .312 with seven home runs, 23 RBI and a .972 OPS. After another home run last night, Garcia is tied for fourth in baseball in homers and ranks 12th in OPS.
Garcia has hit three of his homers over the past week. Additionally, Garcia has an extra base hit in six of his past seven games. He is averaging 3.1 total bases per game in that span and had at least three total bases (+165) in four of those games.
Today, he gets a tough assignment against Luis Castillo, who he hasn't homered off of … yet. However, Garcia is 3-for-8 (.375) with three singles against Castillo. Additionally, Castillo has gotten off to a slow start compared to previous years and has allowed four earned runs in each of his first three starts. He is coming off a dominant outing (seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts) in his most recent start, but that was against the Rockies.
The Rangers, particularly Garcia, will present a tougher assignment today. I like Garcia to get another extra-base hit, or to turn in a multi-hit performance and collect two total bases.
Pick: Adolis Garcia Over 1.5 Total Bases (+100)
If you look at MLB's leaders in batting average, you'll notice that there are three Dodgers among the top four spots. Will Smith is fourth and is hitting .352 with a home run and 18 RBI. Batting cleanup in this lineup, Smith is often in position to drive in a lot of runs, and did so last night.
He also had four hits, including a double. He has hit this line in three of his past four starts, and we're getting plus odds on DraftKings. That could be a steal considering what Smith has done to left-handed pitching this season. Smith is hitting .478 with three doubles, six RBI and a 1.160 OPS. He's also hitting .394 on the road this season.
Today, he gets MacKenzie Gore. The young left-hander is off to a promising start with 27 strikeouts in 20 innings. However, he also can work himself into trouble as he has a 1.35 WHIP this season. He gave up seven hits in four innings in his most recent start against the Astros. Smith is 1-for-3 against Gore in his career.
It's also important to note that Smith has doubled in the past three games that he's hit this line. You can back him for another double at +320 on FanDuel or DraftKings.
