MLB Picks

Two 1st place teams clash in Seattle. The New York Yankees, 1st in the AL East, face the Seattle Mariners, 1st in the AL West. The Yankees send young Will Warren to the mound against the Mariners' Luis Castillo. Seattle has been struggling in its past 10 games. Aaron Judge continues his historic season, possibly heading for a Triple Crown and still batting over .400.

The Toronto Blue Jays host their AL East rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams had hopes of contending in 2025, but are fighting to reach and stay about the break-even point. The Rays start Ryan Pepiot. The Blue Jays respond with veteran righty Chris Bassitt.

The Colorado Rockies have not yet won 10 games and it's the middle of May. They are far and away the worst team in baseball, including the White Sox. They just fired manager Bud Black. They travel to play the Texas Rangers. Colorado sends Kyle Freeland to the hill where he will be opposed by Texas' Jack Leiter.

The Houston Astros, hovering around .500, host the Kansas City Royals. KC has been scorching hot after a slow start. The Astros send Framber Valdez to the hill to face the Royals' Kris Bubic. Both teams have playoff aspirations in 2025, but are trailing in their respective divisions.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (21-20, 4th in the NL West) visit their division rivals, the San Francisco Giants (24-17, 3rd in the NL West). Both teams are above .500, but falling back in the toughest division in MLB. The Giants were just swept 3 straight by the Twins. Merrill Kelly starts for the Snakes. Justin Verlander goes for the Giants.

The Boston Red Sox (22-20, 2nd place, AL East) visit the Detroit Tigers (26-15, 1st place, AL Central). The BoSox have won 4 of 5, but are still dealing with familiar drama with how slugger Rafael Devers has reacted to a club request to move for 1st base. Detroit is soaring, having won 8 of 11.

The St. Louis Cardinals (21-19, 2nd place in the NL Central) finish their 3-game series against the Washington Nationals (17-23, 4th place in the NL East). The Cards are looking for a sweep to cap off a productive run. They have won 9 of 11 and send veteran Miles Mikolas to the mound. The Nats respond with their best starter, lefty MacKenzie Gore.

The Atlanta Braves (18-20) meet the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-26) at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Atlanta has played much better after its woeful 5-13 start. But they are still hovering around .500 and trying to get beyond the break-even number. The Bucs are an unambiguous disaster. They just fired manager Derek Shelton as if it's his fault that they're batting around .220 as a team and have weak backend starting rotation. Don Kelly has taken over as field boss.

The New York Yankees (21-16, 1st place in the AL East) visit Sacramento to play the Athletics (20-18, 2nd in the AL West). New York is coming off two impressive wins over the Padres. The A's lost 2 of 3 in a Western Division showdown with the Mariners.

The Detroit Tigers (24-13, 1st place in the AL Central) host the Texas Rangers (18-20, 4th in the AL West). Detroit is one of MLB's hottest teams. They send defending AL pitching Triple Crown winner and Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the mound. Stumbling Texas just fired its hitting coach and starts veteran Patrick Corbin.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (25-12, 1st place in the NL West) travel to play their rivals the Arizona Diamondbacks (19-18, 4th place in the NL West). LA sends Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the hill against Arizona's Brandon Pfaadt. The Dodgers have won 8 of 10 to jump into 1st place over the Padres and Giants. The Diamondbacks have been bouncing around the .500 mark for much of the 2025 season.

The Toronto Blue Jays, battling the Orioles to stay out of last place in the AL East, take on the AL West cellar-dwelling Los Angeles Angels. The disappointing Blue Jays send Jose Berrios to the hill to face the Angels' Yusei Kikuchi. The Jays need to turn things around. Playing the Angels is an opportunity to do that.