Royals vs. Padres prediction and odds for Monday, May 15 (Kansas City live underdog)

The Kansas City Royals start an early week series in San Diego against a floundering Padres team that is below .500 despite a pricey offseason.

Kansas City is in the onset of a rebuild, but can it play spoiler for a Padres team that is searching for consistency on the mound with veteran right hander Michael Wacha, who has an ERA nearing 5.00. The Royals will counter with Brad Keller, who hasn't been much better, but can he outperform this price tag that has KC as big underdogs on the road?

Here's the current odds for this matchup and our favorite bet for Monday's matchup out west:

Royals vs. Padres odds, run line and total

Royals vs. Padres prediction and pick

The Royals are right around league average in terms of slugging percentage, 17th overall, which actually outperforms the Padres, who are 20th. Overall, San Diego has struggled at the plate despite having far more starpower in the lineup.

The biggest issue for the Royals on Monday night is Keller's MLB high walks (32). The Padres draw walks at the second highest percentage in the bigs, and Keller can be prone to putting batters on base without forcing them to make contact. San Diego has made up for its inability to make contact by drawing walks, but I can't trust Wacha to live up to this lofty price.

Wacha has a 4.82 ERA while struggling to punch batters out, striking out less than three batters for every walk he dishes out.

The Padres have underperformed all season, why should we expect anything different on Monday night? The Royals have a competitive lineup that can take advantage of Wacha and give Keller some run support.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.