This article is part of our PrizePicks MLB series.
Thursday brings us an entertaining all-day slate, and there are potentially profitable PrizePicks opportunities throughout the afternoon and evening. We highlight four of our favorites below:
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Heliot Ramos, SFG at COL: More Than 0.5 Singles/ More Than 2.5 Hits + Runs + RBI
Ramos put together another multi-hit night Wednesday, pushing his season slash line to an outstanding .295/.365/.484. The talented leadoff man is well on his way to building on last year's breakout campaign, and he's drawing a tantalizing matchup that could well facilitate an extension of that success in Thursday's series finale at Coors.
Antonio Senzatela will toe the rubber for Colorado and comes in with a 1-10 record, 6.68 ERA, 1.97 WHIP and 1.6 HR/9 across his 13 appearances (12 starts). Senzatela was deployed in the second inning after an opener his last time out and the strategy seemed to work, as he tossed four scoreless frames against the Mets.
Nevertheless, he remains a very targetable pitcher for Ramos, who went into Wednesday with a .963 OPS and .407 wOBA against right-handed pitching on the road. Senzatela has pitched to a .303 BAA and .390 wOBA versus righty bats at Coors, along with a massive 2.9 HR/9.
Whenever Senzatela exits, Ramos will gain access to a Rockies relief corps that already was allowing a 7.11 ERA, .310 average and .397 wOBA at home in the previous month of play — all MLB-high figures — before surrendering seven more runs on seven hits and three walks over three innings Wednesday.
Riley Greene, DET at BAL: More Than 0.5 Total Bases / More Than 6.5 Hitter Fantasy Score
Greene boasts an .819 OPS coming into Thursday, and with 13 homers and 44 RBI through 67 games, he's on pace to surpass last year's career-bests of 24 HRs and 74 RBI, which he achieved across 137 contests.
The 2019 first-round pick has compiled 126 total bases as well, an average of 1.9 per contest. Greene's well-balanced contributions have allowed him to hit double-digit fantasy points in two of his last three games alone, and he could be set for one of his higher-percentile performances Thursday.
Orioles starter Dean Kremer has struggled mightily against left-handed hitters all season, conceding a .331 average, .390 wOBA and 1.7 HR/9 in that split overall. Kremer has also given up a .333 average to Greene in a small sample of six career encounters, and Greene went into Wednesday night action with a .330 average, 1.019 OPS and massive .435 wOBA against right-handed pitching on the road. Orioles relievers are also a good target, considering they've allowed a .349 wOBA to left-handed hitters at home in the last two weeks.
Tarik Skubal, DET at BAL: More Than 7.5 Strikeouts
Skubal is an interesting play on the pitching end for the Tigers, due to both his talent and the matchup against an Orioles team that has a 26.8% strikeout rate and .280 wOBA against left-handed pitching at home in the last month.
Current Baltimore hitters have also had a very difficult time against Skubal, mustering a collective .188/.235/.250 slash line over 51 career plate appearances, a sample in which they only have one extra-base hit and 19 strikeouts. A solid portion of those numbers were compiled during an April 27 game this season, when Skubal blanked the O's for six innings while ringing up 11 Ks.
Skubal has recorded at least eight strikeouts in eight of 13 starts overall while falling just short with seven in another outing. The southpaw has been at his best at home, but he's still averaging well over a strikeout per inning on the road (10.4) and has already proven capable of setting down Orioles hitters in large numbers.
Paul Goldschmidt, NYY at KC: More Than 0.5 Hits / More Than 6.5 Hitter Fantasy Score
Golschmidt was at it again Wednesday, going 2-for-5 with a two-run single to push his season slash line to .312/.367/.457 across 66 games. The veteran once again looks like one of baseball's elite hitters after a significant downturn in St. Louis last season, and a big part of his success besides the protection he enjoys in a loaded top half of the Yankees' lineup is the fact he's cut his strikeout rate to a career-low 17.7 percent.
Goldschmidt is facing a solid but hittable pitcher in Seth Lugo on Thursday, one he's tormented for a .571 average with a pair of homers in 16 career plate appearances. Goldschmidt has also been outstanding against right-handed pitching on the road, as he went into Wednesday night's multi-hit effort already boasting a .344 average, .855 OPS and .375 wOBA in that split.
Goldschmidt has hit safely in 46 of 66 games, so the odds of him getting at least one hit are certainly high. Then, his extremely well-balanced offensive profile — he's scored 41 runs, has 21 extra-base hits, has driven in 29 runs, and has even stolen five bases — helps him to consistently solid fantasy scores, including tallies of 12 and 16 in the last five games alone.
The Yankees' projected run total is already up to five runs as of early Thursday after opening at 4.7, so Goldschmidt having another productive offensive showing is firmly within the range of outcomes.
