MLB Betting Odds & Picks: Rangers vs. Athletics (Thursday, Aug. 6)

Rangers vs. Athletics Odds

Odds as of Thursday and via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

Oakland looks to continue its hot start to the season as starting pitcher Mike Fiers takes the hill against Mike Minor and the Rangers on Thursday afternoon. The Rangers are reeling to start the season and will need to turn things around soon or they can kiss their playoff chances goodbye.

Rangers

Projected Lineup (via Fantasy Labs)

The Rangers offense has struggled all year, posting a meager .280 wOBA and 71 wRC+. Joey Gallo has been their only bright spot, producing a .458 wOBA and 192 wRC+. However, facing a below average righty like Fiers should provide Texas with a good opportunity to get back on track.

Rangers Projected Starter

Mike Minor, LHP

Projected Stats (ZIPS) (via Fangraphs)

Pitch Arsenal (via Baseball Savant)

Minor primarily uses a three-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, and changeup. His fastball lacks velocity, but he uses it effectively. In 2019, his fastball produced a 23.3% whiff rate and held hitters to a .318 wOBA.

He excels when he throws his changeup: Last season, opponents were only able to hit .184 against it and whiffed at a 31.4% rate. The A's typically crush lefties, but they did struggle against sliders and changeups last season, so look for Minor to go away from his fastball and utilize his changeup and slider a lot more on Thursday afternoon.

Athletics

Projected Lineup (via Fantasy Labs)

The A’s have also struggled out of the gate offensively with only a .294 wOBA and 94 wRC+. They’ve surprisingly struggled against fastballs with -7.3 weighted fastball runs in their first 11 games.

The A's roasted left handed pitching in 2019 with a .327 wOBA and 107 wRC+, so facing an average lefty like Minor, should provide them with a good opportunity to get back on track offensively.

Athletics Projected Starter

Mike Fiers, RHP

Projected Stats (ZIPS) (via Fangraphs)

Pitch Arsenal (via Baseball Savant)

Fiers has really fallen off a cliff the past few seasons. In 2019, he posted his worst xFIP of his career at 5.19. All of his pitches, except for his changeup got hit around the yard last season, especially his fastball and sinker. He's lost any velocity he once had and is barely averaging over 90 mph on those two pitches. The Rangers were decent against fastballs, and really good against sinkers a year ago (ranked 5th in MLB). So, Fiers is going to have to use his secondary pitches a lot and effectively if he's going to keep this Rangers lineup at bay.

Bullpens

After solid outings from both Lance Lynn and Jesus Luzardo on Tuesday night, both bullpens should have everyone available on Thursday afternoon.

Projections and Pick

In my opinion, Fiers and A's are overpriced in this spot. So, I will backing the Rangers and would bet them all the way down to +118.

Pick: Rangers +132

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