MLB Saturday Picks - July 6 2024

Saturdays in the MLB mean that we’re right in the heart of each weekend series, and of course, matchups starting in the afternoon and going all throughout the evening. Along with the starting lineups for the All-Star Game having recently been announced, the excitement for the MLB season is only ramping up. So, we’ve shared our best MLB Saturday picks for July 6.

MLB Saturday predictions

Philadelphia Phillies ML over Atlanta Braves (-110)

Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins over 7.5 runs (-120)

Kansas City Royals -1.5 over Colorado Rockies (-125)

Best MLB Saturday picks: Philadelphia Phillies ML over Atlanta Braves (-110)

For our best MLB Saturday picks, we have three different markets for you, and we’re getting started with a classic NL East rivalry. The Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves were expected to battle for the division this season, and that is exactly what fans have gotten to enjoy. However, it’s Philly that has had not just the best record in the NL East, but the entire MLB the past couple of months. They have a comfortable lead over the Braves and would like to have it reach double digits with the all-star break coming up. 

Of course, it certainly helps that they have two of the top NL Cy Young candidates in Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez, and we’ll see the latter on the mound today. While the Braves were able to have their lefty ace Max Fried on the mound to start the series, now it’s Philly’s turn. Admittedly, Suarez is coming off arguably his worst start of the season, but we fully expect him to come out as motivated as ever and lead his team to a win over Atlanta, just like he did in his first start of the season. Along with the Phillies being embarrassed by a very disappointing Chicago Cubs team prior to this series, we’re predicting Philly to extend their NL East lead.

Best MLB Saturday picks: Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins over 7.5 runs (-120)

Shifting to the American League takes us to the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins series, and while it’s not a divisional rivalry, it’s one between two hot teams. Both trail just one team in their respective divisions, but it certainly didn’t seem like that would be the case for the ‘Stros. Despite being arguably the best team in baseball over the last handful of seasons, they got off to a very slow start to the year. However, they’ve been the best since the start of June. While their bounce back has been impressive, they’ve still had two starting pitchers go down needing Tommy John surgeries in Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy.  

In other words, their starting rotation isn’t nearly as strong, which correlates to us predicting a high-scoring game. Heading into this series, the Twins tied a franchise record with 22 straight games with a home run in the 12-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Now, they’ll get to face Hunter Brown, who is just 6-5 in his third season in the league. Similarly, Minnesota starter Joe Ryan hasn’t been living up to expectations with a mediocre 5-5 record, including a loss to the Astros earlier this season. He allowed five runs in five innings himself in that matchup, which is a significant portion of the damage we need to go over the total this afternoon.

Best MLB Saturday picks: Kansas City Royals -1.5 over Colorado Rockies (-125)

The final prediction from our best MLB Saturday picks is an interleague matchup with the Kansas City Royals heading west to take on the Colorado Rockies. These are two franchises that have been among the worst the past few seasons, but the Royals are in the midst of changing that. There are several reasons for that and seeing young star Bobby Witt Jr. live up to the hype is certainly part of it. Given how highly touted of a prospect he was, it’s incredible that he’s been able to do so, but heading into this series, the third-year shortstop had the most hits in the American League and just one shy of the league lead. 

Along with his performances at the plate, the Royals will also have Seth Lugo on the bump. He’s still considered a bit of a longshot in the AL Cy Young market, but with an 11-2 record and coming off a 10-strikeout performance, we fully expect his odds to only get shorter. That’s especially true when facing a Rockies team that is simply trying to avoid having the worst record in MLB. These teams don’t meet often, but with them trending in opposite directions, we're predicting a smooth Royals win tonight.