Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers Prediction, 4/18/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers

Date: Friday, April 18, 2025

Location: Comerica Park in Detroit, MI

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+120) Detroit (-144)

The Kansas City Royals (8-11) are headed to Comerica Park on Friday where they will attempt to defeat the Detroit Tigers (10-8). The line on this matchup has the Royals at +120 and the Tigers are at -144. The over/under is 9. The expected starting pitchers are Cole Ragans and Jackson Jobe.

Kansas City has a slugging rate of .308 and have been rung up 148 times, while taking a walk on 51 occasions. They have tallied 58 runs batted in and 126 hits on the year, while their team batting average is .206. The Royals have earned 28 two-baggers as a team and have smacked 10 balls out of the stadium. They have earned 58 runs and hold an OBP of .274. As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are compiling 3.1 runs per game, which ranks them 29th in MLB.

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Their K/BB ratio is 2.53 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.24. Royals pitchers have yielded 18 home runs and 72 runs in total (10th in the league). Kansas City has allowed 143 base hits (7.7 per 9 innings) and also 62 earned runs. The Royals hold a team ERA of 3.33 this season (4th in the league), and the staff has rung up 162 hitters. They have walked 64 opposing players and their FIP sits at 3.75 as a unit on the year.

The Royals have dispatched 59 relief pitchers to the mound for the year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 18 base runners for the season with 44.4% of them crossed the plate. They have earned 6 saves on the campaign and have missed out on 3 out of their 9 save opportunities. The Royals relief pitchers have recorded a save percentage of 66.7% and has entered the game in 18 save situations. The relievers have a total of 9 holds on the year (20th in baseball). Royals pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 14 times in addition to having 20 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Houston Astros are sitting with 502 putouts so far this season, in addition to 183 assists and 10 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .986 which puts them in 16th in professional baseball, and they have turned 17 double plays. The Royals have turned 70.5% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 1,506 innings, which ranks them 17th in pro baseball.

Ragans has taken the ball for 345 frames and has 397 K's so far in his pro baseball career. Ragans (19-17 career record) is the owner of a FIP of 3.34 and he has gone up against 1,421 opposing batters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.39 (130 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.173. He has allowed 277 hits (7.2 hits per 9 innings) and has 128 walks.

Detroit has recorded 20 home runs this year and 78 RBIs. They have hit 24 doubles, while getting a free base 66 times as well as putting up 81 runs. The Detroit Tigers have earned an OBP of .317 and a team batting average of .238 on the campaign. The Tigers have a slugging percentage of .394 and they score 4.50 runs per game (10th in baseball). They have been called out on strikes on 176 occasions (4th in the league) and have tallied 143 base hits.

The Tigers hold a team WHIP of 1.127 with a FIP of 4.08 as a squad for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 8.30 (144 strikeouts vs 53 walks). They rank 4th in the league as a staff in total hits relinquished with 123. They have surrendered 21 dingers and they surrender 3.86 runs per 9 innings (7th in the league). The Detroit pitching staff have surrendered 67 runs on the year while holding a team ERA of 3.52 (61 earned runs yielded).

Detroit has had bullpen pitchers enter the contest in 5 save opportunities and they have come away with 4 saves. They rank 6th in MLB holding a save percentage of 80.0%, and they have dispatched 48 relievers to the hill on the season. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 7 times in high leverage situations and on 15 occasions with base runners. Detroit relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 22.2% of 18 inherited base runners. Sitting with 9 save situations, the Tigers have earned 3 holds and also 1 blown save.

Out of their 1,407 innings played, the Tigers are sitting with a efficiency on defense of 74.5% (4th in baseball). The Detroit Tigers have gotten 10 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .989 (5th in baseball). The Tigers have accrued 152 assists, 7 errors and have earned a total of 469 putouts for the year.

During his career, Jobe has allowed 10 base knocks while he has earned 11 K's in 19 innings pitched. He has allowed 5 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.000 and a FIP of 2.3. His K/BB ratio is 1.22 and he has faced 76 opposing hitters during his MLB career. Jobe (1-0 mark in his career) has earned a 2.37 ERA and has conceded 4.7 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas City (+120)

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