MLB Predictions: Kumar Rocker, Spencer Arrighetti and Justin Wrobleski Viewed As Underpriced Starters

A loaded slate of day games wraps with a potential NLCS matchup. Our MLB predictions tackle that game and another that could be a quick cash option that gets to the window before the marquee game even starts.

MLB Predictions for Sunday, April 26

Athletics at Rangers: No Run First Inning

We’ve got two of the 10 worst first inning offenses in terms of OPS in the first month of the season and I think we see the slow starting trend sustain in this spot.

We know Kumar Rocker has start-to-start upside and we’ve seen him hold his own against the top of opposing orders. Through four starts this season, 1-2-3 hitters have just seven knocks in 31 at-bats against him with just a single extra base hit. This is a nice sign of growth for the 26-year-old after he struggled in such spots a season ago and the exact trend we like to see for the sake of this ticket.

JT Ginn doesn’t yet have a win and his 3.74 ERA doesn’t stand out, the the advanced numbers like him more than the raw ones and a declining barrel rate is the type of bet I want to make. On this young season, his average opponent exit velocity (85.9 MPH) is the fifth lowest among 133 qualifiers.

Both of these teams are better than the league norm in terms of slugging percentage and that’s why I’d rather not tackle the full game. But in isolating the first frame, where these pitchers are asked to execute a very specific plan, I’ll take my chances with even odds.

Cubs at Dodgers: Under 9

I like the under, I expect runs to be hard to come by in this game with both starters dealing. Shota Imanaga is pitching like an ace, he had a rough season debut but he’s been lights out since, posting a 1.13 ERA, 0.54 WHIP and 24:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 24 innings over his last four starts.

Justin Wrobleski, on the other hand, has also been incredible, he’s 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 24 innings over four appearances (three starts) this season. His 9:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) might be uninspiring but he’s pitching to contact and that’s clearly working. I think he can keep up with Imanaga.

Yankees at Astros: Spencer Arrighetti over 5.5 strikeouts

Arrighetti turned heads in his 2026 MLB season debut, fanning 10 across six innings in a win over the Colorado Rockies on April 15. He didn’t look as crisp in his second start, against the Cleveland Guardians on April 20, and while he only fanned three, he cruised to another win after tossing five innings of two-run ball. While you might argue that he’s going in the wrong direction and that the start against the Rockies was an outlier, the reality is that Arrighetti’s stuff plays in the majors. And he should show it against the New York Yankees.

The Bronx Bombers are expected to be without Giancarlo Stanton due to injury, and while the Yankees are a tough matchup for any pitcher in the majors, they’re also a power-loaded lineup with a tendency to strike out. The Yankees are tied for seventh for the most strikeouts this season (250), and Arrighetti has punched out 13 in 11 innings of work so far in 2025. If he manages to pitch at least five or six innings, he should be able to hit this line.