There are eight MLB games scheduled for Monday, June 3.
Action Network's baseball staff has two Monday MLB Best Bets, including a moneyline pick for Mets vs Nationals and a first-half (f5) moneyline pick for Padres vs Angels.
Continue reading below for our MLB Best Bets, Picks & Predictions for Monday.
MLB Best Bets: 2 Monday Picks & Predictions
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our MLB betting staff is targeting from the Monday slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific MLB bet.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 9:38 p.m. | |
  | 6:45 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Mets vs. Nationals
The Tylor Megill breakout is real.
His fastball velo is up (96), improving his stuff profile (110 Stuff+) and whiff rates (31% strikeout rate, 12% swinging strike rate). He generates elite extension (7.5 feet, 99th percentile), so his fastball comes at hitters with a dizzying approach angle.
He’s effectively limiting hard contact (36% hard-hit rate, 88 mph average exit velocity), mainly by leaning into his recently added cutter (.285 wOBA allowed) and splitter (zero hits on 23 thrown).
Everything is coming together, hence why he carved up the Dodgers last week, throwing seven shutout innings allowing only four baserunners with nine strikeouts.
MacKenzie Gore’s breakout is also real. I love how his fastball is playing this season. Still, Megill is – at the minimum – a comparable starting pitcher. He might be better.
Meanwhile, the Mets have significant advantages in the batter’s box (104 wRC+ vs. 89 wRC+), the bullpen (3.73 xFIP vs. 3.97), and on defense (-6 OAA vs. -13).
We project the Mets as -110 ML favorites. The wrong team is favored in D.C. on Monday.
Pick: Mets ML (+104)
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Padres vs. Angels
By Sean Zerillo
Another week, another Tyler Anderson fade.
I haven't bet against a pitcher this consistently since the corpse of Jake Arrieta in 2021 (5-14, 7.39 ERA for the Cubs and Padres). If you bet $100 against Arrieta in every game of that season, you would have gone 18-6 with a $825 profit for a 34% ROI.
Anderson isn't nearly that bad of a pitcher — he's the prototypical Chad innings eater, and a serviceable back-end starter. However, he's also run about as well as I have seen a pitcher of his level run over two months.
That wacky interference play you saw last week with Juan Soto? It came after Anderson loaded the bases to start the game — the highlight of his luckbox campaign:
Anderson ultimately stranded all three first-inning runners — and every other baserunner that evening (aside from Alex Verdugo's solo shot) — increasing his strand rate to 87% (72.4% career, previous high of 77.8%). Anderson also has a .211 BABIP (.284 career, previous low of .256).
Regression is coming. Anderson has only one start this year where he's allowed more than three runs — it happened in 12 of his 25 starts last season. The underlying metrics (4.60 xERA, 5.00 xFIP, 6.8 K-BB% in 2024 vs. 4.96 xERA, 5.52 xFIP, 8.7% K-BB%) and pitch modeling metrics (98 Pitching+ vs. 96 last season) show that he's the same pitcher as 2023.
Matt Waldron (3.52 xERA, 16.5% K-BB%) throws a knuckleball nearly 40% of the time — he's a bit more challenging to project. Still, Waldron is in a groove right now (31 K, 6 BB in the past four outings), and I like him toward the more optimistic end of his projected range (projected FIP range of 4.17 to 4.64), which is in line with his career 4.21 xFIP.
Waldron's knuckler (.200 xBA, .306 xSLG, .247 xwOBA) should continue to improve with age and repetition, which is especially fun because he's only 27 years old. He could be around for a while.
Pick: Padres F5 ML (-135)
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