For the first time since his Toronto Blue Jays tenure, Yusei Kikuchi faces his former club on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
The pregame narrative: Kikuchi is 0-4 through seven starts but has a chance to lift the Los Angeles Angels to a series win tonight. On Toronto’s side, a loss would sink the team to four games below .500 for the first time this year.
I’m backing Kikuchi, Logan O’Hoppe and George Springer in my Blue Jays picks vs. the Angels on May 7.
Blue Jays picks vs. Angels
Best Bet: Springer over 1.5 bases (+150)
Springer officially entered a new phase of his career this season, shifting out of the leadoff spot after more than 1,000 starts.
He’s a heart-of-the-order bat now, and based on how he’s mashing the baseball, you might think that’s where he’s belonged this whole time.
Springer has a .960 OPS through 32 games, which is his best mark since 2019 — a season where offence exploded due to unintentional alterations to the baseballs.
According to Baseball Savant, Springer has been adept at going after the right pitches (97th-percentile chase rate) and teeing off on them (96th-percentile launch angle sweet-spot rate).
Springer went 2-for-4 with a home run in the series opener last night. He’s now 5-for-13 with three extra-base hits to start the month.
I’m man enough to admit I thought Springer was cooked last season, when he posted his first sub-100 OPS+ of his career as a 34-year-old.
But the bounce-back has been superb, and it’s desperately needed on a Toronto team hurting for offence.
Springer has been punishing lefties so far in 2025, posting a .308/.441/.808 slash line in 35 plate appearances. One good swing is likely all it’ll take for Springer to go over 1.5 bases on Wednesday.
In past matchups against Kikuchi, Springer is 7-for-16 (.438) with a triple.
Key stat: Springer has cashed this bet in 16 of 32 games. He’s averaging 1.7 bases per game this season.
Quick pick
Kikuchi over 4.5 Ks (-107): I’m not in love with Kikuchi’s early-season returns, but this line is low enough that I’m content to buy in.
- Kikuchi has 5+ Ks in 6 of 7 starts this season.
- He topped the 200-strikeout mark last year and owns a 9.3 K/9 in his career.
Toronto has the sixth-lowest K rate in the majors (20.6%), which is a notable concern for this prop. But again, Kikuchi is cashing it consistently, and that has to count for something.
Last night, fellow L.A. southpaw Tyler Anderson fanned seven Jays hitters over 6.2 innings of work.
O’Hoppe over 1.5 bases (+148): O’Hoppe is a high-strikeout guy with tons of pop, and I think his boom-or-bust tendencies should play in this matchup.
Toronto starter Jose Berrios hasn’t been piling up Ks at a stellar clip. He ranks in the 26th percentile in whiff rate and the 47th percentile in strikeout rate.
Berrios is primarily a sinkerballer against right-hitting players, which is great news for O’Hoppe. The catcher is 10-for-19 with two home runs against sinkers this season.
O’Hoppe has cashed this bet in six of his past 10 games and is averaging 2.0 bases per game overall.
Blue Jays picks vs. Angels made at 12:09 p.m. ET on 05/07/2025.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.