It's another loaded Tuesday on the diamond.
Our staff of MLB betting experts has pieced together four best bets for tonight's slate, including a side, a total, a home run prop (for Dinger Tuesday!), and even a Minor League Baseball Triple-A pick.
Read on for our MLB picks, predictions, and 4 best bets for Tuesday, April 14.
MLB Picks, Predictions
The team logos in the table below represent the matchups our MLB betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:40 PM | |
  | 7:40 PM | |
  | 6:40 PM | |
 | 9:05 PM | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Royals vs Tigers Moneyline Picks
By Sean Zerillo
Public projection systems are torn on which team they prefer to win the AL Central; ATC, FanGraphs, and OOPSY currently favor the Detroit Tigers, while PECOTA and the Bat X favor the Kansas City Royals.
Based upon how I model out these teams for an individual game, Kansas City projects to have the better 26-man roster, whereas Detroit has the deeper 40-man roster to provide depth over a full season.
If I made the starting pitchers the same in this matchup (with either Cole Ragans or Framber Valdez facing both teams), I would set the line closer to Royals -105, meaning Ragans is worth about 2.2% to the Royals' win probability, relative to the opposing southpaw.
Framber has the better weighted FIP projections, but Ragans has a higher ceiling in any start, with superior strikeout ability (career 20% to 14.7% K-BB%). He's also facing the much more strikeout-prone offense.
The Royals' lineup rates as the slightly superior and deeper unit against left-handed pitching, but also projects to put more balls in play (average projection of 11.8% K-BB% vs. 16.2% K-BB% in the respective lineups).
Lastly, it's worth noting that the Tigers are an extremely popular bet as of Tuesday morning, triggering an Action Labs Pro System on Kansas City, which has generated a 7.2% ROI in divisional matchups since 2005:
While that system isn't predictive on its own, it does suggest the Royals are potentially being overlooked in this spot and may, in fact, be the better team when all players are healthy.
I projected Kansas City as the favorite in both halves. You can bet their first five innings (F5) or the full game moneyline at -105.
Check out all of Zerillo's MLB bets for Tuesday in today's edition of Opening Pitch:
Pick: Royals ML (-105 or Better)
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Blue Jays vs Brewers Over/Under Picks
By Matt Trollo
While temperatures in the 60s may not necessitate a closed roof, the threat of rain might. That’ll be my assumption here, though there is a hotline listed on the team website at MLB.com for roof status.
With said roof closed, American Family Field is a bottom-five run environment in the league (92 Park Run Factor via Statcast). The run environment only increases to 96 on average with the roof open, and this would be among the worst conditions they would consider opening the roof for.
With a pair of potentially dominant pitchers, who have leaned mostly that way in each of their first three starts and significant injuries to both lineups dropping either (projected) to no higher than a 100 wRC+ vs RHP since last season, this starts to look like an under.
Add in a pair of the best defenses, despite injuries, and two of the top projected and performing bullpens, both of which had Monday off, and I see a strong case for a low total to stay under.
Check out Trollo's full Blue Jays-Brewers preview here:
Pick: Under 7 (-125 or Better)
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Nationals vs Pirates Home Run Picks
By Ryan Minion
When it comes to smashing long homers, Pirates' outfielder Oneil Cruz is one of the best. Pittsburgh’s young superstar is one of the most unique players in MLB history, standing at 6-foot-7 with insane bat-speed and exit-velocity metrics.
In addition to hitting over 20 homers in each of the past two seasons, Cruz smashed a 513-foot moonshot in the 2025 Home Run Derby with an insane exit velocity of 122mph — amongst the hardest hit balls in the Statcast era.
Despite striking out a ton, Cruz hits for extreme raw power, blasting several homers upwards of 450 feet over the course of his young career.
The Pirates are set to host the Cardinals on Tuesday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh in the second of a three-game homestand.
There is no doubt that Oneil will have a prime matchup against St. Louis righty Miles Mikolas, who has got off to a dreadful start to his 2026 campaign, posting a 12.40 ERA over his first two starts.
On the contrary, the Pirates’ superstar is scorching to start his third season in the Big Leagues, ranking among the top-10 MLB hitters with a .345 average. Cruz also ranks in the top-10 in homers, having already mashed five.
While the current form of this matchup is surely significant, Oneil also has a solid history against the 37-year-old veteran, having blasted a double and a triple.
The Cardinals’ right-hander has been very susceptible to allowing homers in recent years — even tying an MLB record after allowing six in a single game — and has already allowed four this season in just over 12 innings of work.
Mikolas had a rather impressive arsenal earlier in his career, but has had terrible command issues over the past two seasons, losing control of his off-speed pitches and having to rely more on his four-seam fastball.
The longtime veteran has also had far more struggles pitching on the road, which is certainly significant in this case.
Cruz has punished fastballs in the upper zone and has shown far more patience in the box than in 2025, demonstrating impressive discipline to get ahead in the count. The Pirates’ young star also thrives on off-speed pitches that get left in the zone.
Cruz is off to a phenomenal start in 2026, and I expect that to continue on Tuesday.
Check out Minion's Long Ball Picks for Tuesday here:
Pick: Oneil Cruz Home Run
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Trigger's Triple-A Best Bet
Las Vegas Aviators at Reno Aces
Tuesday, 9:05 PM ET
Vegas has cooled off after a hot start, and the Aviators are short on pitching, so I don’t see them faring well on the road against Reno’s loaded lineup.
I think this is going to be a two-start week for Mitch Bratt (Tuesday and Sunday), which is as good as it’s going to get for Reno from a pitching standpoint.
If the series comes down to who will hit better, it’s likely going to be the team with Ryan Waldschmidt, Tommy Troy, and LuJames Groover at the top of the order.
Las Vegas got rained out twice in Sacramento over the weekend, which means the Aviators haven’t played a game since Friday, when they got shut out 11-0 by the River Cats and lost 9-0 to Sacramento the previous day.
Outscored 20-0, followed by back-to-back rainouts and having to sit around in Sacramento all week, followed by travel to a very good Reno team to face Bratt, who is probably the Aces’ best pitcher, sounds like the right set of circumstances to continue a losing streak.
Check out all of Trigger's Minor League baseball best bets here:
Pick: Reno Aces ML
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