MLB picks today: Picks, predictions, odds and best MLB bets for March 20 (2024)

Ahead of MLB games today, Sportsnaut is delivering our Major League Baseball expert picks for every matchup on the schedule. Our MLB picks today look at the MLB odds and matchups each day to provide the best MLB bets for fans.

We will avoid making parlay picks as the data finds those are the biggest sources of losses for those betting on sports. While MLB parlays can be enticing because of the higher payouts, the best money-making strategy is to always target individual bets and you’ll make more in the long run. As more information and data become available throughout the season, our ability to make picks will improve even more.

Related: World Series odds 2024

Let’s dive into our MLB picks today, looking ahead to the Seoul Series on March 20 and 21.

MLB picks today: March 20 and March 21

The 2024 MLB season starts with the Seoul Series in South Korea between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. San Diego and Los Angeles are playing one game on March 20 and one game on March 21, with both matchups officially counting in the MLB standings. Because it’s a short slate, we’re providing our MLB picks today for both dates. MLB odds via BetMGM.

Related: MLB season predictions 2024

MLB expert picks and predictions for today

The Seol Series is being played in at Gocheok SkyD ome in Seoul, South Korea. Importantly, this means the MLB park data that we’d have on stadiums across the United States and their park factors is unavailable. While that does make it a bit more difficult with our MLB picks, we can still look at matchups.

Related: MLB stadium rankings 2024

Ahead of the Dodgers vs Padres matchup, we will note the ballpark dimensions at the Gocheok Sky Dome. It’s 325 feet to left field, 325 feet to right field and 400 feet to dead centerfield. Importantly, the fences at Gocheok Sky Dome are all 12 feet high. As noted by Baseball Prospectus, Gocheok Sky Dome is a domed stadium. This is also a neutral ballpark, meaning neither the hitters nor pitchers have an advantage through park dimensions or climate conditions.

MLB prop bets today: best bets for March 20

It will always be a little more challenging to choose MLB prop bets this early in the season, especially when the two clubs are playing in an international stadium. Pitchers take longer to ramp up after spring training, but hitters also need some time to find a groove. With that in mind, here is our MLB prop bet picks for March 20.

Tyler Glasnow – Under 6.5 strikeouts (-150)

There’s less risk with taking the under on strikeouts, especially considering Tyler Glasnow threw just 5.1 innings in his final start of spring training. Strikeouts obviously mean a higher pitch count and while Glasnow is a strikeout artist – career 30.9 percent strikeout rate – he likely won’t have a long leash in his first start of the season. Plus, the San Diego Padres had the sixth-lowest strikeout rate (21 percent) vs righties in 2023.

Related: Los Angeles Dodgers game today, Dodgers schedule 2024

Max Muncy – Under 0.5 hits (+130) and Freddie Freeman – Over 1.5 hits (+155)

Early in the year, we’re targeting career batter vs pitcher stats as a data point that can be relied on in the first few weeks of a new season. In his major-league career against Yu Darvish, Dodgers’ infielder Max Muncy is 7-for-31 with 12 strikeouts and a .226/.250/.355 slash line. While he’s much better against righties than southpaws, Muncy only posted a .237 batting average against right-handed pitchers last year. As for Freddie Freeman, he sports a career .998 OPS and a .290 batting average against Darvish.

Related: Highest-paid MLB players 2024

Los Angeles Dodgers total runs – Over 4.5 runs (-150)

Darvish has historically been a strong starter early in the season, demonstrated by a career 3.25 ERA in April and March across 290.1 innings pitched. However, the 37-year-old righty allowed a career-worst .256 batting average allowed with a 1.30 WHIP last season with San Diego. Facing arguably the best lineup in baseball, Darvish could be in for a rough season opener.