Royals vs. Tigers Predictions, Picks, Odds & Starting Pitchers: Today, 4/17
Following road series to begin the week, both the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers transition to a series against one another. Of course, only one can be heading home, and it’s to the Motor City we go. We’re heading there with you to provide you with our Royals vs. Tigers predictions.
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Royals vs. Tigers Predictions For MLB On FS1, 4/17
Don’t look now, but the Tigers were the first team in the AL Central to reach double-digit wins! Ok, maybe that’s not ground-breaking, but they’re proving themselves to be in the mix for a division that seems up-in-the-air.
However, they’ve had just one divisional series so far this season, and with that coming against the Chicago White Sox (struggling yet again), this is a far bigger test for them. That will be even more true in terms of Royals vs. Tigers predictions for today specifically, as they swapped scheduled starter Jackson Jobe to Reese Olson.
Either way, neither of them are lefty ace Tarik Skubal, and with that in mind, we’re going to be focused on the Royals lineup for our best bet rather than targeting the standard Royals vs. Tigers odds.
Kansas City Royals: A Not-So-Royal Report Card
After being at the bottom of the barrel for what felt like forever for fans in Kansas City, the Royals have absolutely been on the rise. After an 86-win season AND Bobby Witt being an MVP finalist, surely all the MLB executives ranked them highly…right?
Nope - they were ranked 16th out of the 30 teams. While that’s far from awful like their back-to-back 97 and 109-loss seasons, it’s not what they would have hoped for either. They have a chance to continue proving themselves this year, though, as no team in the AL Central entered the year with shorter than +200 odds to win the division.
Detroit Tigers: Offensive Woes
Following a series in Milwaukee against the Brewers, the Tigers will certainly be happy to head back home. Although they won that series opener by scoring an impressive nine runs, their offense quickly took a turn for the worse. They followed that up with a 5-0 shutout loss and then scored just one run yesterday afternoon.
While it’s not enough to fully panic by any means, the concerning aspect of those games is that the Brewers have four of their five starting pitchers of the rotation on the injured list. Therefore, the Tigers just faced guys thrust into the spotlight, although Jose Quintana is a formidable lefty. Regardless, they’ll need to muster up more than one run over two games against the Royals.
How To Watch Royals vs. Tigers Today
No matter which of these AL Central rivals you root for, here’s how to watch Royals vs. Tigers today:
- Where: Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan
- When: 6:40 PM ET on 4/17
- Watch on TV: FS1
- Where to stream: Fubo, MLB.TV
Royals vs. Tigers Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines
As previously shared, we’re going to be focusing on a player prop rather than the standard markets, but we’ve still got those for you with the Royals vs. Tigers odds below:
- Run Line: Kansas City Royals +1.5 (-160) vs. Detroit Tigers -1.5 (+154)
- Money Line: Kansas City Royals (+120) vs. Detroit Tigers (-132)
- Game Total (Over/Under): Over 8.5 (+112) vs. Under 8.5 (-130)
Royals vs. Tigers Best Bet: Bobby Witt Over 1.5 Total Bases (Enjoy More Player Picks At Sleeper)
We said right from the start that there was a spot that we loved for the best bet from our Royals vs. Tigers predictions, and seeing the name above, it’s clear that we aren’t exactly straying away from the household names in this game.
Bobby Witt has already solidified himself as one of the young faces of the MLB, and rightfully so. He’s a true five-tool player, and we’re going to be focusing on his ability at the plate. In just his third career season last year, Witt Jr. was able to play in 161 of 162 games, racking up an incredible 211 hits, which included 45 doubles and 32 home runs.
Having seen those numbers, it shouldn’t be a surprise to also find out that his 374 bases were the third-most in the league. For better perspective, the only two guys above him? Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge - the two MVP winners. Now facing Tigers starter Reese Olson, he’s set up for just as much success.
It’s difficult for a player so early on in his career to have a ton of at-bats against any one pitcher, but he’s already had 13 appearances against Olson. In those, Bobby Witt has gone 6-for-11, and most importantly for total bases props, an absolutely unheard of 1.364 slugging percentage!
Look, we know that isn’t sustainable forever, but we aren’t asking for 4+ total bases today (he’s done that three times vs. Olson). We just need two, making the best bet from our Royals vs. Tigers predictions on Bobby Witt over 1.5 total bases (target even more player picks at Sleeper with their PicksVS feature).
Royals vs. Tigers Injury Report & Starting Pitchers
Heading into this divisional series opener, Royals vs. Tigers injury news see KC as the healthier squad, although they’d still prefer to have Dairon Blanco available. As for Detroit, their notable injury concerns are with Wenceel Perez, Jake Rogers and Matt Vierling. With starter Alex Cobb also on the IL, that also plays a role in the Royals vs. Tigers starters for today:
- Kansas City Royals starting pitcher today: Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 3.71 ERA)
- Detroit Tigers starting pitcher today: Reese Olson (1-1, 6.00 ERA)
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Player News
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