Brewers vs Twins betting preview: Why Minnesota's Joe Ryan is the play in Friday's matchup

Today, I'm switching to a game between the Brewers and the Twins.

For now, they are 24-17 for the year and 2.5 games behind the Cubs in the National League Central standings.

They have injuries hitting them right now, so maybe the team will be even stronger as the year goes along. Despite trading their ace, they have a team ERA of 3.35 and a 1.23 WHIP. Chad Patrick is going for the Brewers tonight (according to DraftKings, at least). For the season, Patrick has been solid with a 2-2 record, a 3.06 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has struggled on the road with a 5.84 ERA, and that is mostly due to his allowing four earned runs in each of his past two road outings. The Twins hitters are 5-for-15 against Patrick.

Despite a .236 batting average, the team has scored 211 runs for the year. The pitching staff has a 4.49 ERA, but the 1.36 WHIP is at least manageable.

Tonight they have a guy who is likely to be on the trade market if the Twins' mild success doesn't improve by the middle of the year, Joe Ryan. A lot of teams view Ryan as a No. 1 or No. 2 option for a rotation, and there is good reason to think that.

Ryan is 2-3 for the year with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He is the proud owner of a 2.60 home ERA as well. He did leave a start with injury just two outings ago. However, he came back last week and threw six innings with one earned run and two hits allowed. Brewers hitters are batting just 14-for-69 against Ryan.

I don't have a great look at a player prop today, aside from Andrew Vaughn going hitless. He is 2-for-12 against Ryan in his career with four strikeouts. Patrick has been decent this season, but he isn't the same level of reliability as Ryan. Give me the Twins in this one through five innings; that way, we shouldn't need to worry about any bullpen meltdowns.