Holy MLB Weather + Pacers/Celtics Game 1 Specials

Atlanta Braves -124 @ Chicago Cubs +106

Game Total: 11 | Starting Pitchers: Charlie Morton (R) vs. Javier Assad (R)

BUCKLE UP FOLKS. Temps at Wrigley Field are in the mid 80s with WINDS BLOWING OUT TO LEFT AT 20-25 MILES PER HOUR – MASSIVE BUMP TO BATS in the friendliest ball park under these conditions in baseball (outside of Coors Field).

The Braves have the highest-implied run total of 5.4 runs and should be seen as one of the top offenses on the board. Helped by temps and wind, fly balls will carry forever, turning warning track shots into home runs with ease. Javier Assad has been really dang good this year, so we’ll have to be picky with how we select players from this Atlanta team. Assad’s a ground ball specialist that doesn’t really give up much damage. We’ll need to find batters that have low ground ball rates and elevate the baseball up into that wind mentioned above. Marcell Ozuna is one of the hottest hitters in baseball and may be the hottest hitter over the entire scope of the 2024 season so far. He has recorded a hit in 80% of games (36/45) and has hit safely in thirteen-straight as well (including 2 Homers in the last two games). He also has the lowest ground ball rate of any righty on Atlanta, so he is a must here. Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson are both lefties that have ground ball rates under 30% against righties and are in play as well. Finally, Ronald Acuna Jr. has woken up over the weekend, recording two extra base hits against the Padres. He has a homer in four at-bats vs. Assad.

Not to be forgotten, the Cubs offense is also playing in this game today. They’ll face Charlie Morton, who’s been pretty dang good in his own right, but is falling off to lefties a bit over the last month. Mike Tauchman and Cody Bellinger are EXCELLENT candidates and rank right behind Marcell Ozuna for me as some of the top bats of the card. Tauchman has a homer in this matchup while Cody has three doubles and a triple off Morton.

Use Code “RADAR” to get on board Sleeper Picks with their NBA Specials!