MLB Picks Saturday

C- Alex Avila DET- Avila had a nice line out and a a double off of Lester the other day not to mention a single against Melancon. Against a guy like Beckett, we think Avila will be fine. He is a solid hitting catcher that has shown power in the past. There are plenty of catchers priced ahead of him, but we really like him today.

Other Catchers: Joe Mauer MIN, Carlos Santana CLE, AJ Ellis LAD

1B- Carlos Pena TB- Did you see Pena play yesterday? He had 3 hits including a grand slam and a game winning single that was crushed to deep left center. Against a guy like Kuroda, we think Pena will keep up the sweet stroke and flash more power.

Other 1B- Paul Goldschmidt ARI, Justin Smoak SEA

2B- Ian Kinsler TEX- Kinsler was zoned in yesterday against the White Sox. Today vs Jake Peavy we expect him to give himself a 2 game hit streak and have another solid day at the plate.

Other 2B: Dustin Ackley SEA, Jose Altuve HOU

3B- David Freese STL- Freese is the hottest hitter in baseball right now. Multi hit games in two straight, he has continued his success from last postseason. Freese has an OK matchup going against Greinke, but we like the hot hitter in this one.

Other 3B: Edwin Encarnacion TOR, Jack Hannahan CLE

SS- Troy Tulowitzki COL- We have one rule here at OSF and that is "If a stud is facing a pitcher you've never heard of from a team that is terrible then they are a must have pick." Well, Tulo is facing someone we've never heard of (Harrell), so we're taking him.

Other SS: Starlin Castro CHC, JJ Hardy BAL

OF- Carlos Gonzalez COL- See Tulo. Cargo is a great hitter and facing a bad Astros' pitcher. If you have the money then grab him.

OF- Matt Kemp LAD- Kemp is one of the best hitters in baseball. Mix this with a good matchup against an average Padres pitcher in Dustin Moseley, and we really like Kemp to get his hits today.

OF- Brennan Boesch DET- Boesch showed a lack of patience at the plate and just didn't look that great in the Tigers' opener. That being said, we like Boesch to bounce back and capitalize on the good pitches he'll see hitting in the 2 hole.

SP- Cliff Lee PHI- Lee has the best matchup of the day in facing the Pirates. Halladay dominated them for 2 hits in 8 innings. This is the easiest pick of the day as we can see Lee go 8 strong innings with 7-8 strikeouts.

SP- Bartolo Colon OAK- Colon pitched great last week in Japan vs the Mariners. He had a good amount of success last season with the Yankees, so there's no reason not to think he'll do very well again against a team like the Mariners at home.

RP- Jonathan Papelbon PHI- Papelbon pitched a great inning the other day in his first save of the season. He had one strikeout in the inning. Against the Pirates again there is no reason to think a save opportunity isn't going to happen. The only concern we have is that Lee might go the whole way. This early in the season though, we don't think Manuel will let his pitcher's pitch count get that high.

RP- Joe Nathan TEX- Nathan pitched a scoreless save yesterday in a 3-2 win over the White Sox. We like the Rangers to win again, and Nathan to pick up that save.