Sunday's MLB Picks

C – Bryan Pena: KC likes using a platoon with Pena and Quintero, and today it looks like they are going with Pena against Minnesota. Pena has been hovering around .300 this year and he faces the struggling Jason Marquis.  Combine that with a value of under 5K, and you have a solid play on a day filled with early games.

1b – Joey Votto: Yes Votto only has 1 homerun, and yes he is batting under .300, but today he faces a triple A call-up (Jordan Lyles) who had a 5.36 ERA last year in 15 starts.

2b – Brandon Phillips: For the exact reason we are starting Votto, we are starting Phillips.  He faces Lyles today and Phillips is 5 for his last 11.

3b – Edwin Encarnacion: Mr. Encarnacion is red hot right now (a homerun in each of his last 2 games with 6 RBIs).  Here at OSF we love hot players so we will continue to play him until he lets us down.

SS – Alex Gonzalez: Today, Gonzalez faces a lefty in Jaime Garcia.  In 2011, Gonzalez hit 35 points better against lefties than against righties.  In addition, Gonzalez is hot as he is 6 for his last 13, and had a homerun last night.

OF - Jay Bruce: Not only is Bruce arguably the hottest hitter in baseball (3 straight games with a homerun, and 7 for 11 during those 3 games), but once again we must state the obvious, he is facing Jordan Lyles today.

OF - Alex Gordon: In Gordon’s last 3 games, he is 7 for 12 with 2 homeruns and 5 RBIs.  To make him even more enticing to play today, he is facing Jason Marquis (7.15 ERA).

OF - Andrew McCutchen: It’s so hard to pass up on a guy like McCutchen when he is under 7K.  We understand he doesn’t have any homeruns, but he does have 5 stolen bases and a .324 batting average.  And, who knows, maybe Tim Hudson will struggle in his 2012 debut today.

U - Mike Moustakas: Hitting right at .300, Moustakas is 10 for his last 22 and faces Marquis today.

U - Emilio Bonifacio: The whole Miami team is struggling offensively, and Bonifacio is no exception, but we have the weirdest hunch that Bonifacio will break out of it today with a 2 for 4 performance and a stolen base.  You heard it here first!

SP - Derek Lowe:  Frank Wren of the Braves has to be shaking his head right now; how in the world could someone who was so bad last year have a 3.00 ERA with a 3-1 record after 4 starts?  Lowe single handedly cost the Braves the playoffs last year.  But this year is a whole different story as he has been very effective in 3 of his 4 starts, and he faces an Angels team who is struggling with their sticks (23^rd in runs scored).

SP: Wade Miley - Who is this guy?  He was used as long relief earlier this season, but he is now a starter for the D-backs.  He is 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA, and in his first start of the season last week he went 6 innings and gave up just 2 hits, 0 runs, and had 7 Ks.  Oh, and we almost forgot to mention he faces one of the worst offenses in the league, the Marlins.

SP: Bartolo Colon – The old man is 3-2 with a 2.62 ERA, and even though he had the loss in his last start, he went 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs.  To make Colon even more enticing, he faces the Orioles who are in the bottom half of the league in almost every offensive category.

RP: Mariano Rivera – The Yankees have Sabathia going today, so we expect a low scoring affair against the Tigers with the future HOF pitcher picking up his 5^th save in a 3-2 ballgame.