Yankees vs. Astros prediction: MLB picks, odds, best bets

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Marcus Stroman is set to make his debut in pinstripes on Saturday night, facing Houston’s Hunter Brown. 

Stroman strung together an impressive spring training, recording a 2.61 ERA throughout 20 ²/₃ innings in five starts.

He’s the latest Brian Cashman cash grab who will play a pivotal role in the Yankees’ success this season — especially with Gerrit Cole out for a couple of months. 

Brown enters his second full season.

In 2023, he persevered through some growing pains after being thrust into the rotation with an abundance of prospect hype. 

The righty’s ERA-xERA difference of 0.82 reflects bad luck, but the training wheels come off this season as Brown is expected to compensate for a banged-up rotation despite the inexperience. 

In terms of contact, both of these pitchers finished identically in xwOBA, allowing opposing hitters a middling .318 average.

But Brown’s learning curves landed him in the bottom 8 percent in exit velocity. 

Brown is 1-1 in his career against the Yankees, holding a 4.50 ERA.

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Stroman hasn’t faced the Astros in seven years, but he’s facing a Houston team that held the third-highest rate in first swing percentage one season ago while he induced a healthy 57.1 percent rate in ground balls.

The stable vet makes the Yankees an alluring underdog play here. 

The pick: Yankees +106.