Free MLB Picks Today for Monday, April 17th, 2023

Our free MLB picks are out for Monday, April 17th, 2023! Make sure you check our MLB picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free MLB picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Cleveland Guardians @ Detroit Tigers – 6:40PM ET

Tony Battalio

Despite taking two out of three from the Washington Nationals over the weekend, the Cleveland guardians blew a huge opportunity to complete the three game sweep yesterday. As they came from behind for the third consecutive game to take the lead late into the ball game but unlike the first two games Cleveland would end up losing on Sunday. Now they move onto a series with the Detroit Tigers as they play their first series against another team in the American League Central division this season. 

Detroit has been struggling this season, which should give Cleveland plenty of opportunities to get another series victory and a comfortable victory here in the game on Monday night. The pitching matchup for this one will be Hunter Gaddis against Matthew Boyd, as both pitchers will be searching for the first victory of the season on Monday evening at Comerica Park. Due to the lack of success for both of these starting pitchers this season, it’ll likely come down to offensive production to determine the winner of this game. That is why I’m taking the Cleveland Guardians to pick up the victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night. As I think Cleveland will simply just outscore Detroit here in this one.

San Francisco Giants @ Miami Marlins – 6:40PM ET

Tony Battalio

Both of these teams aren’t having the best starts to the 2023 major league baseball season and now they will meet up for the first time this year. As the San Francisco Giants come across the country to play the Miami Marlins. The San Francisco Giants have it a lot worse than the Miami Marlins at the moment, as they have only managed to pick up five victories in their first 14 games of the season. Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins have played 16 games this season, and they are dead even at 500 heading into the series. They will look to use this set of games to pad their record and gain some ground in the National League East division early on in the season.

Logan Webb will be on the mound for the San Francisco Giants and he is not having a good season thus far. He comes into this game having yet to pick up a victory and he has already recorded three losses on the year. His earned run average is closer to five then it is zero which should tell you just how his season has gone up until this point. Jesus Luzardo will be on the mound for the Miami Marlins in this one and his season has gone pretty decent for him coming into the start. He has already picked up two victories this season, and he is pitching well this year. I think that gives the Miami Marlins a huge advantage in this game as I have Miami picking up the victory against San Francisco on Monday night.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Cincinnati Reds – 6:40PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Tampa Bay Rays are no longer undefeated, but they just continue to win. Despite losing a couple games against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay still managed to pick up a victory in the series and they were highly competitive throughout the weekend. Now they start a series with the Cincinnati Reds here on Monday night. It hasn’t been an ideal start to the season for the Cincinnati Reds as they have quickly fallen into the bottom of the standings in Major League Baseball throughout the first three weeks of the year. Their starting pitching has been atrocious and it has not been more evident than when the Philadelphia Phillies scored 9 runs on them in the first inning during their game against them on Sunday. They will have to be a lot better in this one if they want to get some wins over the best team in baseball.

The Cincinnati Reds come into this one three games below the .500 mark as they have only picked up six victories in their first 15 games of the season. However, as crazy as it might sound, they have a legitimate shot to pick up the victory in game number one of this series at home against Tampa Bay on Monday night. That is because they have their best pitcher on the mound for them as Hunter Greene gets the start and this one as he looks to pick up his first victory of the season. Meanwhile, for Tampa Bay, it’ll be Jalen Beeks who gets the start for the Rays in this one on Monday. Even with Hunter Green on the mound, I still think Tampa Bay will get the victory to open up the series on Monday as their offense has been virtually unstoppable so far this season.

Philadelphia Phillies @ Chicago White Sox – 7:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Philadelphia Phillies are off to a slow start this season but with all the talent on their roster it’s only a matter of time before they get things turned around. They have a huge opportunity to turn things around when they open the series with the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. Philadelphia comes into this game for games under .500 as they’ve only picked up six victories, through their first 16 games of the season. They will meet up with the equally struggling White Sox team as both teams look to improve their record throughout the week and grab an important series victory as well.

Chicago is struggling as much as Philadelphia is but Chicago has the added benefit of playing in a weaker division in my opinion. As the Chicago White Sox are playing in a two team race in the American League Central as they look to play catch-up to the Cleveland Guardians, and the Minnesota Twins at the moment. Chicago has only picked up three victories in their last 10 games of the season and they have an identical record to Philadelphia as they have only picked up six victories in their first 16 games of the season. They come into this game on a one game losing streak but I don’t expect it to get much better for them as I have Philadelphia picking up the victory here in game number one.

New York Mets @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The New York Mets come into the series after a successful weekend series against the Oakland Athletics, and they will remain on the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. The competition will be much tougher for the New York Mets this time around as they play a Dodgers team that has a favorite to win the National League pennant this season. However, the New York Mets come into this one with a ton of momentum as they currently find themselves on a four game winning streak heading into Monday night. They are currently for games above .500 as they have picked up double digit victories in their first 16 games of the season. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers coming to this one, having a slow start to the season by their standards as they are used to racing out to a fast start. Despite the slow start, they are still one of the most competitive teams in the league and they are dangerous and their loaded lineup can strike at any time. Los Angeles comes into this game sitting right at .500 as they have picked up eight victories in their first 16 games of the season. They come into this one on a one game losing streak after dropping the third game of a three-game series to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon. I think it’ll be the New York Mets that pick up the victory here in game number one of the series as I think their momentum carries them to a win in this one.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.