3 Best MLB Bets and Predictions for Opening Day

When you're betting a moneyline, run line, or total in Major League Baseball, you've got to weight a healthy number of factors -- from the starting pitcher to the bullpen and even defense.

After considering those factors, which bets stand out across today's action?

We're going to run through that below, discussing my favorite bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's MLB betting odds. For additional insights, you can also check out our daily MLB player prop projections.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

MLB Opening Day Betting Picks

Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox

Under 7.5 Runs (+100)

All eyes will be on the Los Angeles Angels-Chicago White Sox matchup on Opening Day.

OK, so maybe hardly anyone cares about this game, but I'll be tuning in because the under is my favorite bet of the day.

The pitching matchup pits Yusei Kikuchi versus Sean Burke. While it's not a star-studded pairing, both hurlers put up dang good numbers last year, although the majority of Burke's came in the minor leagues.

Kikuchi was a legitimate top-tier ace in the second half of the campaign after a midseason trade to the Houston Astros. The lefty ended the season with a 3.30 SIERA, 28.0% strikeout rate and 12.8% swinging-strike rate -- which included a sparkling 2.87 SIERA and 31.8% K rate across 60 innings with Houston.

Taking on a Chicago offense that was among baseball's worst in everything last year -- one FanGraphs projects for the fewest runs per game this season (4.03) -- Kikuchi can be the main driver of this under.

However, don't sleep on Burke, who cooked in the minors in 2024 and also did well in a small MLB sample. In 64 1/3 Triple-A frames, Burke posted a 31.0% K rate and 14.9% swinging-strike rate. He got 19.0 innings in the bigs at the end of the year and kept missing bats, generating a 28.9% strikeout rate en route to a 3.56 SIERA.

Burke's issue is free passes as he let up a 13.0% walk rate in Triple-A last year and a 15.0% walk rate in 12 innings this spring. The matchup should help him as the Halos were just 15th in walk rate last season and recorded the 8th-highest strikeout rate against righties (24.2%). FanGraphs projects the Angels to be just 16th in runs per game (4.44).

All in all, I like both starters to have success, and with bullpens obviously rested and ready to rock -- with the added plus of these teams being off on Friday -- the offenses should see top relievers once Burke and Kikuchi are out of the game. Give me the under.

Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays

Orioles Over 4.5 Runs (+108)

The Baltimore Orioles should have one of the game's best offenses in 2025, and I like them to get the better of Jose Berrios in their Opening Day meeting with the Toronto Blue Jays.

FanGraphs projects the O's for the seventh-most runs per game (4.62) this season, and the Orioles were lethal versus right-handed pitching in 2024, putting up the fifth-best wOBA (.324) in the split. Baltimore's offense also thrived away from home, ranking fourth in road wOBA (.327.)

While Anthony Santander is gone -- and will be in the other dugout for this one -- and Gunnar Henderson is out injured, Baltimore still has plenty of offensive firepower, including Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O'Neill and Jackson Holliday. Plus, the Orioles liked hitting in Toronto last year, scoring at least five runs in five of their seven games above the border.

Berrios is a fine pitcher but nothing special. He amassed a 4.33 SIERA and 19.5% K rate in 2024. The Orioles should be able to find some joy against both him as well as a Toronto bullpen that struggled to the fourth-worst xFIP (4.39) a year ago.

Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Dodgers

Dodgers -1.5 (+132)

We've got a fascinating matchup in LA on Thursday as the champion Los Angeles Dodgers do battle with the Detroit Tigers in a game where lefty aces Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell are the probable starters.

Pitching matchups don't get much better than this as these two have teamed up for three Cy Young awards and are among the favorites to win one in 2025, per the Cy Young odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. While Skubal might be the best pitcher in the game, my reasoning for backing the Dodgers on the run line is two-fold -- Snell is almost as good as Skubal, and the Dodgers' offense is significantly better than the Tigers' offense.

If Skubal has his A game, he'll make things extremely tough for the Dodgers, but, man, this Dodgers offense is ridiculous. They scored 10 runs across two games against the Chicago Cubs and were missing both Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman for that season-opening series. Those two are expected back today, which means LA will trot out a lineup featuring Freeman, Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith and Tommy Edman.

In short, as tough of a matchup as Skubal is for any lineup, the Dodgers' offense is a brutal matchup for any pitcher.

Snell should be able to quiet a Tigers offense that was 25th in wOBA (.299) last year with the 8th-highest K rate (24.3%). And while Snell may not work too deep into this game as he gets fully stretched out, a revamped Dodgers bullpen spearheaded by Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott is more than capable of putting up zeros.

There probably won't be too many times this year where the Dodgers are -1.5 at odds as long as +132, especially when Snell is starting -- that's how good Skubal is. But even if Skubal mows through the Dodgers' star-studded offense, Snell can keep the Dodgers in the game, and LA can go to work against Detroit's relievers.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.