AL Wild Card Series 2020: Blue Jays vs. Rays Odds and Fantasy Picks

The only meeting between divisional rivals in the MLB wild-card round pits the Tampa Bay Rays against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Rays finished with the top seed in the American League, but they will only get to enjoy the spoils of playing at home for one round. 

But the home-field advantage could be thrown to the wayside since the Rays went 4-3 at home in the regular season against the Blue Jays. 

The Rays will attempt to improve on their average home mark against Toronto by tossing their best arms out in Games 1 and 2 to avoid a series-deciding Game 3. 

Blake Snell is expected to toe the rubber for the Rays in Tuesday's series opener. The Blue Jays have not announced their rotation. 

Odds

To Win World Series

Toronto (+3500)

Tampa Bay (+600)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Fantasy Picks

Randal Grichuk, OF, Toronto

Randal Grichuk was a menace to Rays pitching in almost all of the 10 meetings between the two ball clubs.

The Toronto outfielder recorded at least one base hit in nine of the 10 contests. He also had three multi-hit performances inside Tropicana Field. 

While his performances against Tampa Bay are notable, Grichuk's most important asset could be his playoff experience. 

Grichuk participated in the 2014 and 2015 playoffs as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he could help the young players on the Blue Jays roster navigate through the postseason pressure for the first time. 

One way he can do that is by setting the tone at the top of the order against Snell in Game 1. 

If Grichuk is able to reach base, or join Cavan Biggio as an early base runner, it could allow Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Toronto's other sluggers to drive in a few runs in the opening frame. 

In the six regular-season appearances before Sunday, Grichuk had nine hits, three home runs and eight runs. 

He also went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBI in his team's most-recent showdown with Snell August 24. Guerrero and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. both recorded an RBI from the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the order in that game. 

If Grichuk continues to play well, he could be the X-factor to breaking down Snell and Tyler Glasnow in the first two games of the series. 

Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, SP, Tampa Bay

The best pitchers for fantasy selections Tuesday and Wednesday could be Tampa Bay's one-two punch.

Snell and Glasnow combined to go 9-3, and both hurlers had over 11 strikeouts-per-nine-innings. 

Snell enters the postseason off a nine-strikeout outing against the New York Mets in which he conceded three earned runs over 5.2 innings. 

Glasnow produced an even better finish to the regular season by fanning eight Mets over six innings Wednesday night. 

Glasnow is the better option of the two if you value strikeouts since he totaled 34 in his four September starts to put his season total at 91. 

Snell could still provide value in daily fantasy lineups due to the distance of his starts and low earned runs total, but only had more than five strikeouts on four occasions. 

The only thing to be concerned about with Snell and Glasnow is their home run concessions. They allowed 21 long balls and face a Toronto lineup that can flip a game in an instant with its sluggers.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.