MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks for June 12
Are we ready for a new week and a new edition of the MLB Best Bets and Betting Picks? The Fantasy Alarm team did a nice job over the weekend, so I am looking to start the week off on the right foot. We’ve got a nice eight-game slate for baseball betting with some very interesting starting pitcher match-ups. We’ve gone through all the latest MLB betting odds and checked out where we can find the best value, between money lines, run lines, over/unders, etc. I’ve also studied the latest MLB weather reports so we don’t lose any of our bets to postponements as we dealt with last week. So let’s get to it.
- Thursday’s Record: 1-1
- Season Record: 85-82-2
- Bankroll: -6.23 units
MLB Best Bets for June 12
San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals
We’ll start nice and easy here with a bit of a mismatch in pitching between Logan Webb and Matthew Liberatore. Now, the Giants do not hit lefties well, or at least they haven’t over the course of the season, but Liberatore has one good pitch he throws – his curveball – but everything else just seems flat. With the fact that the Giants hitters are fired up right now (.353 wOBA with a .181 ISO over the past week) and that their ability to hit southpaws has improved, we expect them to score some runs and take care of business tonight. Logan Webb is coming off a mediocre start at Coors Field but will round right back into form against a Cardinals team that keeps scuffling at the plate. He should be able to contain the Cardinals for the majority of his time spent on the mound and the Giants bullpen can keep the momentum in their favor.
Pick: Giants Money Line (-130 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers
I was genuinely looking at a first-five innings bet for this game and don’t hate the Rangers run line, but with Dane Dunning on the mound, anything can happen. So instead, we’ll look at the Texas bats going up against Tyler Anderson. Texas has lost three of their last four and are very likely to take their frustrations out on the Angels southpaw. They’re crushing lefties with a .358 wOBA for the season and have a league-leading .371 wOBA at home which also comes with a .213 ISO. The Rangers team total odds have me waffling between playing it safe and taking the possibility of a push if I just go with the minus-120 for taking the over-5, but no guts, no glory, amirite?
Pick: Texas Rangers Team Total over 5.5 (+115 on Caesars Sportsbook)
Pick: Josh Jung over 1.5 hits + runs+ RBI (-140 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics
While Shane McClanahan gets all the love as baseball’s first 10-game winner, Zach Eflin is clearly becoming the most underrated arm in all of baseball. The guy is 8-1 on the season with a 2.97 ERA and a very impressive 0.96 WHIP. Now he squares off with an A’s team that has won five in a row and is considered the hottest-hitting team in baseball right now with a .380 wOBA over the past week. The irresistible force meeting the immovable object? Hardly. I have tons of confidence in Eflin to dominate in this match-up and I have complete faith in the Rays bats to do some early damage to A’s starter James Kaprielian. So much so that we’ve got two bets for it.
Pick: Tampa Bay Rays 1st 3 Innings -0.5 run line (-115 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Pick: Zach Eflin to record a win (-115 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
**all bets are one unit unless specifically ,mentioned.
Player News
Kevin Gausman’s next start has been pushed back an extra day to Saturday against the Guardians.
Gausman was lit up for six runs over 2 2/3 innings, including a 53-pitch third inning, prior to being ejected from Sunday’s meltdown against the Yankees. The Blue Jays are going to give the ball to fellow veteran Chris Bassitt for Friday’s series opener against the Guardians with Gausman getting an extra day of rest.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday that A.J. Minter is dealing with a “significant” left lat injury.
Mendoza added that season-ending surgery is one of the options on the table. Minter hit the injured list over the weekend with a left lat strain and is facing an extended absence, even if he manages to avoid surgery. It’s a significant loss for New York’s high-leverage mix bridging the gap to closer Edwin Díaz.
Pirates placed RHP Dennis Santana on the Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List.
The move is retroactive to Monday, so Santana can be activated in as few as two or as many as six days. The right-hander has been the Pirates’ most important reliever to date, amassing a 1.46 ERA and three saves, but he’s droppable in fantasy leagues now that David Bednar is back and getting another shot in the closer’s role.
Cristopher Sánchez (forearm) will start on Wednesday against the Nationals.
There was a great deal of concern following Sánchez’s early exit from his previous start with forearm soreness. The 28-year-old southpaw underwent a battery of tests, which didn’t reveal any structural damage, and he’s been cleared to take the ball on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park. There might be some workload limitations from a pitch count standpoint out of an abundance of caution, but it’s a positive sign he’s ready to pitch again. The 28-year-old burgeoning ace holds a sparkling 3.42 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 33/8 K/BB ratio across 26 1/3 innings (five starts).
Pirates recalled RHP Hunter Stratton from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Stratton, who had a 3.58 ERA in 36 relief appearances for the Pirates last season, is joining the major league club for the first time in 2025. He might head back to Triple-A once Dennis Santana is activated.
AJ Blubaugh has joined the Astros and could be promoted to start Wednesday’s game.
That would be Hayden Wesneski’s turn in the rotation, but the Astros have listed their starter for that one as TBA because of concerns about Wesneski’s early workload. Blubaugh, who has a 3.86 ERA and a 28/10 K/BB in 21 innings for Tripel-A Sugar Land, appears likely to start in his place against the Tigers.