Cleveland Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/7/2022

Game time: 4:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to watch: Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Kansas City

DraftKings: Guardians -125, Royals +105

BetMGM: Guardians -135, Royals +110

Caesars: Guardians -130, Royals +110

Guardians: 80-82 (2nd place, AL Central)

Royals: 74-88 (4th place, AL Central)

The Cleveland Guardians have arrived.

That is still very weird for me to say, and I still can’t get over the fact that Tom Hanks actually narrated that video to introduce the artists formerly known as the Cleveland Indians. But the Guardians are a thing, they will play a baseball game on Thursday and will take on the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman.

God help the Guardians because they might get smashed on Opening Day. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Cleveland is a bad team; they were a group that hung around the .500 mark for the better part last season. They’re good and have some up-and-coming pitching that’s going to excite some folks. Even the return of ace Shane Bieber after leaving last season due to a nagging shoulder injury. Bieber will start for Cleveland on Thursday.

And there’s even reason for the Guardians to be excited. After floating for weeks in the rumor mill, the Guardians re-signed All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez to a five-year, $124 million contract Wednesday with a full no-trade clause, meaning Ramirez isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

With Terry Francona back after taking off last season due to health issues, and a healthy roster, many might not expect the Guardians to contend in the American League Central but they’ll be pesky toward the very end.

But I’m looking at the Royals and they have one person that the Guardians don’t have: Bobby Witt Jr. The top prospect in Major League Baseball is going to get his shot on Opening Day with Kansas City and will provide an exciting bat and glove to an already exciting batting order.

“That’s when I knew something was up,” Witt said. “They told me the news. It was awesome and awesome to be able to share it with those guys. Came in [the clubhouse] after and all the guys were congratulating me. I can’t really put words to the feeling how it was. My stomach sank. Tears came to my eyes. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Witt joins a lineup with Whit Merrifield and Salvador Perez to create an enticing order. Perez is coming off an absurd season where the catcher erupted for 48 home runs and 121 RBI. It seemed like every few games he was hitting a grand slam or clearing the bases in some aspect. Even batting .273 was his best in a 162-game setting in which he played a career-high 161 games. There’s reason to get excited about the Royals.

So much so that Zack Greinke wanted to come back. The 38-year-old Greinke, who was drafted No. 6 overall in the 2003 MLB Draft and played the first seven years of his MLB career there, returned after a two-year stint with the Astros. The 2009 Cy Young winner with Kansas City returns for likely one more go-round with his original team, and one has to think they’ll be contenders with the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. If you’re not on board with watching this division, you might want to get on that.

Bieber is playing his first game in about 10 months, facing a talented lineup with a motivated Greinke on the other side. This seems too good to be true for the Royals. I have no idea how far they can go, but if Perez replicates his power surge and Witt becomes an immediate contributor, Kansas City is going to have fun watching its team again. Very much looking forward to this one. Royals win 8-4

The Guardians are 12-12 (-0.8 net games on money line) in April games the last three seasons.

The Guardians are 936-791 (-34.5 net games on ML) against division opponents since 1997.

The Guardians are 19-5 (+9.8 net games on ML) the past three seasons when Bieber starts and the team is a favorite of at least -110.

The Royals are 40-60 (-10.2 net games) as an underdog of +100 to +150 the past three seasons.

Guardians:
Myles Straw (R) CF
Amed Rosario (R) SS
Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
Franmil Reyes (R) DH
Bobby Bradley (L) 1B
Steven Kwan (L) LF
Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
Bryan Lavastida (R) C
Bradley Zimmer (L) RF

Royals:
Whit Merrifield (R) 2B
Nicky Lopez (L) SS
Bobby Witt Jr. (R) 3B
Andrew Benintendi (L) LF
Salvador Perez (R) DH
Hunter Dozier (R) 1B
Michael A. Taylor (R) CF
Edward Olivares (R) RF
Cam Gallagher (R) C

CLE: Shane Bieber
KC: Zack Greinke

Batting average: Amed Rosario -- .282

Hits: Amed Rosasrio -- 155

Home runs: Jose Ramirez -- 36

RBI: Jose Ramirez -- 36

Wins: Aaron Civale -- 12

Saves: Emmanuel Clase -- 24

ERA: N/A

Batting average: Nicky Lopez -- .300

Hits: Whit Merrifield -- 184

Home runs: Salvador Perez -- 48

RBI: Salvador Perez -- 121

Wins: Two tied -- 8

Saves: Scott Barlow -- 16

ERA: N/A