Published Mar 19, 8:24pm ET by
Paul Lebowitz - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated Mar 19, 8:24pm ET
Grok AI
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| New York Yankees | -124 |
| Baltimore Orioles | +104 |
The veteran righty Zach Eflin is a reliable mid-rotation starter for the Orioles. He has only tossed 2 innings this spring as he recovers from back surgery last August. He is expected to begin the season on the injured list and is working his way back lightly.
In those 2 innings, he's allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
Baltimore spent some money this past offseason, specifically to boost the offense with Pete Alonso. Alonso is batting .267 with 2 homers.
Top prospect Coby Mayo is scorching the ball with a .452 batting average and a 1.183 OPS. However, he has only walked once, and the team will want him to show more patience at the plate.
Heston Kjerstad is batting .200. Adley Rutschman is hitting .289 with an .841 OPS.
Luis Gil was expected to be an essential part of the Yankees' rotation in 2025 after his 2024 breakout in which he went 15-7 and was the AL Rookie of the Year. However, he suffered a lat injury in 2025 and was limited to 11 starts, struggling with his control with more than 5 walks per 9 innings.
He's been bad this spring with a 6.28 ERA in 5 starts. In 14.1 innings, he's allowed 19 hits and 10 earned runs, including a whopping 6 home runs. On the bright side, he's only walked 4 and struck out 17.
He might not be on the MLB roster to start the season if he continues pitching so poorly.
Top prospect Spencer Jones is making a strong case to be on the opening day roster. He's batting .333 with a .429 OBP and a .917 slugging percentage and 4 homers. His strikeouts have been an issue in the minors, but he's only K'd 8X this spring.
Jasson Dominguez is also making it difficult for the Bombers to adhere to their initial plan of sending him to Triple A. He's batting .325 with 3 homers.
Aaron Judge is back from the WBC after serving as its team captain.
For the Orioles vs Yankees game in Tampa, Baltimore's starter Eflin is simply trying to get his body ready for the long season ahead after back surgery in 2025. The start is far more important for Gil, who finds himself unexpectedly on the bubble to even make the team given his terrible spring performance.
With New York getting its players back from the WBC and having played well in general, especially at the plate, they should take this game over Baltimore, hoping Gil puts up a better showing so they can be confident in him for the regular season.
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Pick
New York Yankees -124
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