Welcome back to another round of MLB Best Bets Today as the 2025 baseball season rolls on. 

Thursday’s MLB slate features 7 games on the schedule. Despite the smaller slate, we have plenty of ways to go for MLB picks and predictions. Let’s focus on two games for our MLB best bets today before dishing out a few baseball player props and other picks to consider. 

The MLB picks below are accurate as of this writing, but some odds or lines could move before first pitch. All bets below are for one unit unless otherwise noted. Without further ado, let’s dive into our MLB Best Bets Today.

MLB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 8/14

Our MLB Best Bets Today feature Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers taking on the Minnesota Twins in a divisional matchup. Plus, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies meet in a potentially high-scoring NL West showdown. Don’t miss more MLB picks and player props below. Check out these MLB predictions to make as you enjoy Thursday’s baseball action. 

Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins Predictions: Thursday, August 14th

The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins start up a four-game series on Thursday night. These AL Central foes may be separated by 12 games in the division standings, but the Twins took two of three from the Tigers last week. Let’s break down how to bet on tonight’s series opener. 

Tarik Skubal toes the rubber today, which is usually a good thing for Detroit. The AL Cy Young favorite owns a 2.35 ERA and 0.86 WHIP this season. His 33.8% strikeout rate, 3.8% walk rate, and 2.12 FIP lead all qualified starters. The Tigers are also 15-3 in his last 18 starts. 

Skubal is actually coming off arguably his worst start of the season, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits in just 4.2 innings against the Angels. He’s also now allowed 3+ runs in back-to-back starts. Well, he hasn’t given up 3+ runs in 3 straight outings since the 2022 season. That’s a long time ago for a guy who’s since developed into the best pitcher in baseball. 

Let’s count on a bounce-back performance from the Tigers’ ace. Skubal boasts a 2.11 ERA and 2.18 FIP on the road this year. He regularly shows out in these tougher environments. The southpaw also tossed 7 shutout innings with 13 strikeouts against the Twins in late June. He now owns a dominant 1.22 ERA over his last 6 starts vs. Minnesota.

Skubal gets a very favorable matchup here. The Twins have been terrible against left-handed pitching lately. Since the trade deadline, Minnesota has a .259 wOBA (29th in MLB), .202 BA (27th), and 64 wRC+ (29th) vs. lefties. Trading away Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, and Willi Castro has made it a bottom-tier offense in this split. 

On the other side, Twins starter Bailey Ober has a 5.16 ERA and 1.38 WHIP this season. The righty has been especially shaky lately. He has a 7.40 ERA over his past 8 starts and a 7.23 ERA over his last 4 outings. He’s also allowed 4+ runs in 6 of his last 7 starts. 

When Ober last faced Detroit in June, he got knocked around for 7 runs on 11 hits. Another rough outing could be coming here. Since August 1st, the Tigers have good splits vs. righties with a .772 OPS (8th in MLB), .330 wOBA (11th), and .212 ISO (5th). 

Take the Tigers to cover the runline as road favorites. Plus, grab the FanDuel player performance double with Skubal 7+ strikeouts and Tigers to win. After stumbling out of the break, Detroit has now won 10 of its last 16 games. The Tigers also have a notable travel edge after playing yesterday afternoon in Chicago, while the Twins were in New York last night. 

 

 

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies Predictions: Thursday, August 14th

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies start up their four-game series with an intriguing matchup tonight. Coors Field always welcomes high-scoring contests, and the total is definitely lofty for this NL West clash. Even so, we’re grabbing some overs with a pair of shaky starting pitchers on the mound. 

Rockies starter Bradley Blalock has an ugly 7.89 ERA and 1.71 WHIP across 10 games (8 starts) this season. The young righty has also gotten rocked at home, with an 11.76 ERA in 20.2 innings in Coors. He’s given up 7, 12, and 6 earned runs in three of his four home starts so far. 

Blalock just faced the Diamondbacks last weekend and coughed up 5 runs on 7 hits (on the road). We’ll likely see another rough outing in this rematch. Arizona is crushing right-handed pitching over the past week, with a .375 wOBA (3rd in MLB), 142 wRC+ (3rd), .292 BA (2nd), and .874 OPS (3rd). The offense is also averaging 6.6 runs over the past 10 games.

Meanwhile, Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez could run into trouble of his own. The southpaw has a 5.68 ERA and 1.68 WHIP over 20 starts this year. He’s given up 4+ runs in 4 of his last 6 outings with a 6.87 ERA in this stretch. One of those starts came against the Rockies last Saturday, in which he allowed 5 runs. 

On that note, the Rockies have been tough against left-handers recently. In August vs. lefties, the Colorado offense has a .371 wOBA (6th in MLB), 127 wRC+ (8th), .310 BA (5th), and 11.0% K rate (1st). This is not a pushover matchup for Rodriguez, especially in Coors. 

Let’s take the over for both the full game and the first five innings. Notably, the Rockies are 13-5 to the over in their last 18 games. The over has also hit in 6 straight Colorado home games. Yes, the full-game total is high, but the trends and numbers tell us it’s still too low. 

 

 

 

Best MLB Player Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 8/14

 

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