Review Betting Odds and Picks for Athletics vs Royals – Sunday, June 15, 2025

Athletics

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Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals will host the Oakland Athletics on June 15, 2025, in a matchup between two teams struggling this season. The Royals, sitting at 34-37, have had a below-average year, while the Athletics are one of the worst teams, with a 28-44 record. This game is particularly significant as it marks the third contest in the series between these two teams. In the previous game on June 14, the Royals were blanked by the Athletics in a 4-0 shutout.

Noah Cameron is projected to take the mound for the Royals, coming off a rough outing where he allowed 6 earned runs in his last start. Despite his struggles, Cameron boasts an impressive 2.17 ERA this season, although advanced metrics suggest he may be due for some regression. He has shown an ability to pitch deep into games, projecting to average 5.3 innings with 2.6 earned runs allowed today. However, his tendency to allow 5.5 hits and 1.5 walks may create problems against a robust Athletics lineup.

Jeffrey Springs, the projected starter for Oakland, offers a different challenge. While Springs has an average ERA of 4.64, his underlying metrics indicate he has been somewhat unlucky this season and may improve. He faces a Royals offense that ranks 26th in the league, which could play to his advantage. Additionally, Springs’s fly-ball tendencies align well with a Royals team that has produced the fewest home runs in MLB this year.

With Kansas City favored at -150, they have an implied team total of 4.62 runs, showcasing confidence in their ability to capitalize on Springs’s control issues. Conversely, the Athletics hold an implied total of 3.88 runs, reflecting their uphill battle against Cameron. It should be an intriguing duel that highlights the contrasting fortunes of these two teams this season.

Athletics Insights

• Athletics – 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline (+115)
  Jeffrey Springs is an extreme flyball pitcher (36.7% FB% per the leading projection system, THE BAT) and has the benefit of pitching in the #30 HR venue among all parks today.
  Explain: This pitcher’s skill set matches up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to better-than-usual performance.
• Max Muncy – Over/Under 0.5 Hits (-195/+150)
  Max Muncy is projected to bat 5th in the lineup in this matchup, which would be an upgrade from his 75% rate of hitting in the bottom-half of the batting order this season.
  Explain: The higher in the order a player bats, the more plate appearances he will get and the more opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits higher in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting lower.
• Luis Urias – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-170/+130)
  Luis Urias pulls a lot of his flyballs (37.6% — 96th percentile) but may find it hard to clear the league’s 4th-deepest LF fences in today’s matchup.
  Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.

Kansas City Royals Insights

• Noah Cameron – Over/Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-130/+100)
  Noah Cameron has a reverse platoon split and should be helped facing 6 opposite-handed batters today.
  Explain: A pitcher with a reverse platoon split will perform better against opposite-handed hitters (i.e. a right-handed pitcher will be better against a left-handed hitter). Holding this advantage against several hitters can have a huge impact on whether a pitcher will perform well or struggle on any given day.
• Bobby Witt Jr. – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (-135/+105)
  Bobby Witt Jr. has been hot of late, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 93-mph to 97.4-mph in the past two weeks’ worth of games.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
• The Kansas City Royals (19.9 K% (per the leading projection system, THE BAT X) are projected to have the 3rd-least strikeout-prone team of hitters of all teams on the slate.
  Explain: THE BAT X analyzes each player in today’s specific lineup to figure out which teams have the least inherent strikeout potential for the opposing pitcher.

Betting Trends

• Kansas City Royals – Over/Under 4.5 Team Total (-105/-125)
  The Kansas City Royals have hit the Team Total Under in 34 of their last 48 games (+19.85 Units / 36% ROI)
• Athletics – Over/Under 1.5 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total (-140/+110)
  The Athletics have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Over in 28 of their last 42 games (+11.60 Units / 22% ROI)
• Bobby Witt Jr. – Over/Under 1.5 Hits (+155/-205)
  Bobby Witt Jr. has hit the Hits Under in 14 of his last 15 games at home (+12.50 Units / 41% ROI)