White Sox vs. Royals Odds
| White Sox Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
+120 | 9 -110 / -110 | +-1.5 -164 |
| Royals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
-142 | 9 -110 / -110 | -1.5 +136 |
This has been a disaster season on the Southside of Chicago. The White Sox are 31 games under .500, they have players getting knocked out on the field, fans accidentally shooting themselves in the stands, and former players bashing their culture in the media. I imagine no team wants this season to end sooner than the White Sox.
Kansas City has also had a rough season. They are in last place in the AL Central, 10 games behind the White Sox. However, they expected to be down there. The Royals are limping to the finish line as well. But Monday is a national holiday. This means we are all at home enjoying a day off. And, what better way to celebrate all of your hard work, than to spend your hard-earned money betting on two bad baseball teams on a Monday afternoon?
Chicago White Sox
After spending seven years in the Minor Leagues with the Padres organization, Jesse Scholtens was signed by the White Sox and finally made his MLB debut earlier this season. He has worked predominantly out of the bullpen, making 22 total appearances and eight starts.
As a whole, Scholtens has pitched to a solid 3.97 ERA with a 3.99 xERA. He has been much better out of the bullpen though. Scholtens has a 4.83 ERA in his eight starts this year. He pitched well in his last time out, allowing just one run after getting lit up for five in each of the previous two starts.
Scholtens throws his fastball just under 93 miles per hour and doesn’t generate many strikeouts. He has a decent curveball but a below-average slider. At this point in the season, Scholtens is nothing more than an innings eater for a team trying to get through the year.
The extremely top-heavy lineup has been a disappointment for Chicago all season. Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez are the only two players on this team with a wRC+ above 102. The White Sox rank just 29th in the league in wOBA, only Oakland has been worse.
Kansas City Royals
25-year-old Cole Ragans is not quite “a guy” yet. But he certainly looks like he has the stuff to be “a guy” in the future. Ragans was traded to the Royals from the Texas Rangers in June in exchange for Aroldis Chapman and boy, I’m not sure if a trade has ever been regretted quicker.
Since coming to Kansas City, Ragans has a 1.73 ERA in seven starts. He finished August allowing seven runs in more than 36 innings across six starts. He tossed a shutout in three of his six outings, racking up 53 strikeouts to just nine walks. He was named AL Pitcher of the Month for his performance, the first Royals pitcher to win the award since Zack Greinke in April 2009.
Ragans combines a lethal combination of a fastball that averages more than 96 miles per hour, with a nearly unhittable changeup. He has a curveball, cutter, and slider in the mix as well. His slider has also shown elite upside.
Bobby Witt Jr. has pretty much been the only thing worth watching on this Royals offense, but he is certainly worth watching. Witt has 28 home runs and 39 stolen bases, just two long balls away from a 30-30 season. He’s got four home runs in the last two weeks. He would become the first Royals player with a 30-30 season.
White Sox vs. Royals
Betting Pick & Prediction
Ragans has been a guy that has shown promise, but something really clicked for him since coming over to Kansas City. He has a 2.95 xERA this season and a 1.73 ERA since joining the Royals. Ragans has a 12.10 K/9 rate and has allowed just eight earned runs and one home run while racking up 56 strikeouts in seven starts with Kansas City.
Over the last month, Ragans has allowed just two extra-base hits off his changeup or slider while generating 34 strikeouts. His fastball has hit as high as 99.6 on the radar gun. He appears to be the total package with his fastball, changeup, and breaking balls pitch arsenal.
Scholtens for the White Sox is nothing more than a career minor-league guy who has been added to the rotation to eat innings late in the season. Chicago’s offense has been dreadful all season, posting just a .296 wOBA and 85 wRC+.
Ragans was just named AL Pitcher of the Month in August and has not allowed a run over two consecutive starts. I am going to continue to ride the hot hand with Ragans against a weak White Sox lineup.
