Royals vs. Twins Pick – MLB Predictions & Odds 3/30/23

The Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals meet in MLB opening day action in an AL Central division matchup from Kauffman Stadium on Thursday.

Minnesota Twins Team Preview

The Minnesota Twins will be out to rebound from another disappointing season, finishing the 2022 campaign with a record of 78-84 after starting the year at 30-21 through the first two months of play. That resulted in the Twins missing the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time since 2016. Carlos Correa returns after a tumultuous offseason saga with the Twins which ended up resulting in him coming back, but the big acquisition for the Twins was trading for Pablo Lopez, betting on another solid year from Lopez to anchor Minnesota’s rotation. The Twins also brought in Joey Gallo and Michael A. Taylor to add depth to the outfield while parting with Luis Arraez in return for Lopez as well as parting ways with names like Miguel Sano, Gio Urshela and Dylan Bundy. A lot of the usual suspects remain in Minnesota’s lineup, like Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler to lead the charge for the Twins. Lopez will make the opening day start for the Twins after going 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA and 174 strikeouts for Miami last season.

Kansas City Royals Team Preview

The Kansas City Royals will be out to rebound from another disappointing campaign of their own, finishing 65-97 and missing the playoffs for the seventh straight year with their first last place finish in the AL Central since 2018. The core for the Royals remains in tact, with a healthy dose of the young group featuring Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez and Vinnie Pasquantino along with Salvador Perez, Hunter Dozier, Kyle Isbel and Edward Olivares mixed in as well. The Royals’ big move in the offseason was scooping up Jordan Lyles to eat up innings behind Zack Greinke, but outside of that, it’s going to be a rotation that’s figuring out the positioning and their spots as they go along, with names like Brady Singer, Ryan Yarbrough and Brad Keller all in the mix. The drawback is losing Michael A. Taylor from the outfield, but it appears to be all about the youth movement for the Royals this season and beginning the build for the future. Zack Greinke is tabbed as Kansas City’s opening day starter and was 4-9 with a 3.68 ERA and 73 strikeouts last season.

Trends

Minnesota is 16-36 in their last 52 road games and 1-4 in their last 5 games overall while the under is 4-0-2 in their last 6 series-opening games. Kansas City is 6-1 in their last 7 home games and 2-7 in their last 9 games overall while the over is 7-0 in their last 7 games overall.

Pick

I’m backing the Twins here. I’m high on the Royals showing some improvement offensively this season, but I’m still not sold on the pitching staff, especially Zack Greinke who has really seen a drop in velocity in recent years. I think Pablo Lopez was a solid pickup for the Twins and I think he helps guide Minnesota to a win on Opening Day. Give me the Twins.