X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

MLB Betting Picks (7/29/2020) - Moneylines, Totals, and Runlines

Steve Janik recommends betting picks for the MLB slate on 7/29/2020. He breaks down each team's situation and suggests the top picks on moneylines, totals, runlines, and more!

The Cubs got us off to a good start Tuesday by taking care of business against the Reds, mainly thanks to Javier Baez's two homers. Meanwhile, The Twins gave us a nice scare after plating five in the second, but only four more runs were scored the rest of the way. In Los Angeles, things looked a little slow in the early going but the Angels took off and handled things on their own, winning 10-2. The first sweep of the 2020 MLB season!

With such odd circumstances entering this season, it's imperative to be smart with these plays off the get-go. Some players just started practicing a week ago after returning from a COVID diagnosis, while others just flat out might not be themselves following such a long layoff. I completely understand the excitement to be betting on baseball again, but be sure to not mismanage your bankroll early. As the season progresses, I'll likely have more plays, but for now I'm going to limit my plays to a couple a night.

Myself along with Tommy Bell will be supplying you with analysis, recommendations, picks, and other fun information all season long, and hopefully some money to be made as well! I'll be writing up my picks on Tuesday-Friday, and Tom will take care of the rest of the week. Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @RotoStevieJ to talk shop or just chat in general about baseball. Good luck and play smart!

Featured Promo: Get any Props Premium Pass for 30% off using code NEW. Win more with our two new Props Optimizer tools -- one for PrizePicks Props, and one for Sportsbook Betting Props. Find optimal prop bets and get our recommended picks daily! Go Premium, Win More!

Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves (-129)

O/U: 8.5

TB: Charlie Morton, ATL: Mike Soroka

Morton has been one of the steadiest horses in the game over the past few years. He had a rough first outing but that's almost to be expected. It's preferable to get Ground Chuck at home, but he wasn't bad on the road last year, holding hitters to a .238/.308/.382 slash line with just a .297 wOBA. The lineup might be a bit worrisome at times, but Brandon Lowe and Hunter Renfroe have been the early catalysts.

Soroka is still so young but is being asked to shoulder leading the Braves rotation and has done quite well with that role. He held the Mets scoreless over six frames on the road on opening day. In terms of ERA, he was significantly better on the road versus at home in 2o19; a 1.55 ERA on the road and a 4.14 ERA at home. Offensively, give these Braves have some frightening young bats. However, Ronald Acuna Jr. is still trying to find his footing at the dish and oddly enough Dansby Swanson has been the team's best bat.

Morton doesn't miss in consecutive games often. Sure, the Braves lineup is as tough as they come but they're a bit down right now. I'll always target good pitching over good hitting but as bullpens are still trying to get acclimated around the league, I'm looking at the first five innings here.

Pick: Tampa Bay First 5 ML (+110, Draftkings) 1 Unit

 

Chicago White Sox (-115) at Cleveland Indians

O/U: 9.5

CHW: Lucas Giolito, CLE: Zach Plesac

The White Sox got down early Tuesday and couldn't climb back but they did out-hit Cleveland eight-to-six. Jose Abreu left the yard while Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert both registered knocks. This offense has a ton of potential, especially when Yasmani Grandal is in the lineup. Lucas Giolito will look to make up for his total dud against the Twins to start the year. He'll be on the road where his earned run average was over a point lower than at home in 2019. The righty generates a ton of strikeouts when he's on his game, and we know he's better than what he showed on opening day.

Cleveland is another offense that is just loaded with bats that make pitchers work. Following Monday's rainout, they dropped three in the first inning Tuesday and didn't look back. Carlos Santana doesn't seem to age (homered Tuesday), while Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor team up to form arguably the best two-three-four spot in any lineup. However, they hit just .243had an 87 wRC+ against RHP and at home a year ago. Zach Plesac provides Cleveland with a solid five starter but he was a touch worse in Progressive Field last year. He also had success his first time through the order before faltering the second and third time through, so the 25-year-old might have his hands full with Chicago.

Both offenses are more than capable here, with Cleveland having a slight advantage. Therefore, I look at this as Giolito against Plesac and the choice is obvious, especially with Plesac's struggles seeing the order multiple times. Since Chicago's bullpen had to throw 4.1 innings Tuesday, we'll stay away from any late-game theatrics.

Pick: White Sox First 5 ML -121 (Draftkings) 1 Unit

 

Washington Nationals (-167) at Toronto Blue Jays

O/U: 8.5

WAS: Max Scherzer, TOR: Nate Pearson

The Nationals get the rare road game in their home park on Wednesday and Max Scherzer is the arm the Nationals want to revenge their 5-1 loss to Toronto on Tuesday. The righty gave up four to the Yankees on opening night, but still struck out 11 in 5.1 innings. On his own mound in 2019, he held hitters to a .224/..272/.378 slash line with a 28 K-BB%. Offensively, the Nats have struggled a bit, sans their 9-run outburst July 25. However, six guys are batting at least .286 so it's only a matter of time before the reigning champs catch back up.

Pearson, the Blue Jays top prospect, makes his MLB debut Wednesday and the kid is legit. A power arm (once hit 104 mph) with a great changeup and pair of breaking balls, this 23-year-old is supposed to complete the youth movement in Toronto. He'll certainly need some help from the lineup, but the Jays hit just .234 and had a BABIP of .276 against RHP in 2019, both league lows. Thye've averaged 4.2 runs per game so far, but it doesn't get much harder than Scherzer.

Regardless of the pedigree Pearson carries as a prospect, it's tough to bet against Mad Max in this situation. The Blue Jays are one of the league's worst against RHP and Washington will be out to show that their lineup can put runs on the board to backup their ace.

Pick: Washington -1.5 (-104, Fanduel) 1 Unit

More Fantasy Baseball Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP
10
10
11
11
12
19
13
22
14
24
15
25
16
29
17
39
18
40
19
41

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
1
1
2
3
3
7
4
11
6
14
7
15
8
18
9
19
10
20

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Carson Seymour27 mins ago

Named Pacific Coast Pitcher Of The Week
Kyle Finnegan3 hours ago

Picks Up Save Over Dodgers On Monday
Ryan O'Hearn3 hours ago

Doubles, Homers On Monday
Jake Cronenworth3 hours ago

Homers In Win Monday
Logan Webb3 hours ago

Strikes Out 10 In No-Decision On Monday
Hunter Greene3 hours ago

Strikes Out Seven, Earns Win On Monday
Andrés Giménez3 hours ago

Andres Gimenez Steals Two Bases In Monday Win
Gunnar Henderson4 hours ago

Steals Two Bases On Monday
George Springer4 hours ago

Drives In Three On Monday
James Wood4 hours ago

Homers, Steals A Base In Win Over Dodgers
Joey Bart4 hours ago

Triples, Homers On Monday
Jose Altuve4 hours ago

Homers, Steals A Base Monday
Tyler Soderstrom8 hours ago

Hits Two More Homers Monday
Cam Devanney8 hours ago

Tied For Early Lead In Home Runs At Triple-A
Tony Santillan8 hours ago

Earns One-Out Save Monday
Zach Eflin9 hours ago

Leaves Monday's Win Early With Right-Shoulder Fatigue
Francisco Lindor9 hours ago

Notches Career Hit 1,500 On Monday
Logan VanWey9 hours ago

Called Up By Astros For MLB Debut
Justin Steele9 hours ago

Returns To Form In Monday's Win
Kodai Senga9 hours ago

Tosses Five Shutout Innings In Monday's Win
Blaine Crim9 hours ago

Starts Out Hot, Named PCL Player Of The Week

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Dennis Santana - Fantasy Baseball Closers, Waiver Wire Pickups, Bullpens and Saves

Champ or Chump: Dennis Santana, Jonathan India, Clay Holmes Fantasy Baseball Outlooks

We've reached the second week of the 2025 MLB season, and as expected, Rafael Devers is not the worst player in the league. Players have twice as many games played (or more) than they did this time last week, but we're still working with tiny samples. You shouldn't blindly overreact to this season's stat lines. […]


Kris Bubic - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Are You For Real? Surprising Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Starts From Tyler Mahle, Kris Bubic, and Kumar Rocker

Welcome back to the "Are You For Real?" series as we dive into Week 1 of the 2025 fantasy baseball season. It feels so good to be back! For those who are not familiar, this is a weekly column where we take starting pitchers who had surprisingly good starts over the past week and put […]


When Will Grayson Rodriguez, Brandon Woodruff, George Kirby Return? Fantasy Baseball Injury Update

We are over a week into the MLB regular season, and fantasy baseball is off to a flying start for many squads. Like MLB teams, it's been a bumpy start for some fantasy teams. One contributing factor to many slow starts is injuries to key players. Specifically, starting pitcher injuries can be hard to overcome […]


Tyler Soderstrom - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News

Dynasty Fantasy Baseball Risers, Fallers and Buys/Sells - Chris Clegg's Outlooks for Week 2

Welcome back RotoBallers to my dynasty fantasy baseball risers, fallers and buys/sells for Week 2 of the 2025 MLB season. We are just one week into the MLB season and three games into most minor league levels, but there is still plenty of baseball to talk about. I mean, we have already had some prospects […]


Jordan Lawlar - Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Draft Sleepers, MLB Rookies

Top 25 Fantasy Baseball Prospects to Stash (Redraft): Eric Cross' Rookie Rankings for Week 2

With Low-A, High-A, and Double-A starting this past Friday, we now have all four minor league levels in full swing as thousands of players aim to become fantasy-relevant players. Or just reaching the Majors in general. Same thing. We had several notable prospect promotions last week, including Chase Dollander and Zac Veen getting the call […]


Kodai Senga - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Starts and Sits - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball (April 7 - April 13)

The MLB season is off and running, and so are we with our starting pitcher starts/sits for fantasy baseball Week 2- Monday, April 7 through Sunday, April 13. We've gotten a couple of looks at most pitchers by now, but the sample size remains small, which means we remain diligent! Bookmark us for every start/sit option […]


Corbin Carroll - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB News, Draft Kit

MLB DFS: DraftKings, FanDuel Expert Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks For Today (4/7/25)

Welcome back, RotoBallers! My name is Brandon, and this is my debut with the MLB team! You can find me and my work with the NHL and Soccer teams, respectively! Tonight, we have a seven-game slate, and the currently live top-three highest implied team totals are: San Diego with 4.7, Arizona with 4.5, and New […]


Riley Greene - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB News

Fantasy Baseball Players To Watch For The Week Ahead (April 7 - April 13)

With the first week in the books, welcome back to my weekly Players to Watch for the Week Ahead series for 2025 as we look ahead to the week of April 7 - April 13. In this article, I'll look at players like Logan O'Hoppe, Riley Greene, Spencer Schwellenbach, and others. For those who are not […]


Felix Bautista - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Well-Known Fantasy Baseball Players - Drop, Hold, or Sell Low for Week 2? (2025)

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly article about well-known fantasy baseball players. During each week of the fantasy season, we will identify which big-time players are in a slump and determine what we should do with them in fantasy (drop, hold, or sell low). These difficult decisions could be the difference in winning your matchups every […]


Quinn Mathews - Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Draft Sleepers, MLB Rookie Rankings

Top-5 MLB Pitching Prospects To Stash For Fantasy Baseball Redraft Leagues - Week 2 (2025)

Welcome back to our top starting pitcher fantasy baseball prospects to stash for Week 2 of the 2025 MLB season. Even though the regular season has just started, there is no better time to look ahead and identify high-upside stashes. Last season, we saw several prospect pitchers become league-winners as soon as they reached the […]


Ben Rice - Fantasy Baseball Prospects, Waiver Wire Pickups, Draft Sleepers

Fantasy Baseball Frauds? Buy/Sell On Standout Performers Including Chris Bassitt, Ben Rice, Kris Bubic, Carson Kelly, more

Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly fantasy baseball frauds and buys/sells article. Each Monday, we go through several players coming off a solid week in fantasy. Then, we'll determine if we should be buying or selling these players heading into the following week. The first edition of this article saw several players get off to fast starts, including Wilyer Abreu, Spencer […]


Tommy Edman - MLB DFS, Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Waiver Wire

8 Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers - Tommy Edman, Triston Casas, Luke Jackson, Justin Steele, more

Welcome, everyone, to another edition of RotoBaller’s Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers article series for Week 2 of the 2025 season! Today, I'll be taking a look at names like Tommy Edman, Triston Casas, Luke Jackson, Justin Steele, and more. Keeping up with the latest hitter and pitcher trends is a key component for a […]


Jhoan Duran fantasy baseball rankings closers saves draft sleepers

Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts - MLB Bullpens and Saves

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. Relief pitchers are becoming increasingly important for […]