MLB Data Warehouse

MLB Data Warehouse

Money Matchups, May 23rd

Analyzing the best hitter and pitcher matchups on today's MLB slate

Jon A's avatar
Jon A
May 23, 2025
∙ Paid
1
Share

Matt Boyd vs. Reds

The Reds are pretty punchless against left-handed pitchers. They have just a .621 team OPS against lefties this year. The one thing they do well is walk (10%), but Boyd is a good command pitcher who doesn’t give much away for free. The way to beat Boyd is with the long ball. This game is in Cincy, which boosts dingers, but the Reds’ team .282 xwOBA and 6.0% Brl% negate that risk a bit.

I like Boyd getting through five innings here for -500. That’s not an appealing price, of course, but it just feels very, very safe. For -120 or so you can get him to get through six innings.

Or you can just stream the guy in today if available. Boyd is underrated, and the Reds are bad against lefties. That’s all I’m trying to say!


Daulton Varsho in Tampa

It’s not about the opposing pitcher here. Drew Rasmussen is solid.

The target here is Varsho’s fly ball rate. Since last season, he has a 34% FB% against right-handed pitching. That is seven points above the league average. This year, he’s hit a fly ball on 39% of his batted balls and has already homered seven times.

So he’s likely to get a ball or two in the air tonight. And if he can pull one of those, I don’t think there’s a better park for a homer. Steinbrenner Field has given up 19 home runs on fly balls hit under 100mph this year. A fly ball hit by a left-handed bat in Tampa Bay is a fantastic outcome for your fantasy teams, DFS lineups, and betting slips this year.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Jon A
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture