Dodgers vs. Orioles prediction and odds for Monday, July 17 (Who has edge in battle of top prospects?)

The Los Angeles Dodgers head to Baltimore in hopes of building on their first-place lead in the NL West.

The team will start budding prospect Emmet Sheehan, who had been putting up fantastic numbers in Double-A before his promotion to the big leagues, where he's fared well. He faces another young pitcher in Grayson Rodriguez, who has had his fair share of struggles this season in the majors.

Rodriguez got sent down after some poor outings with the O's, but is too talented to stay in the minors. Will he find his form in his second stint in the majors this year against a surging Dodgers team?

Here are the odds for Monday's matchup.

Dodgers vs. Orioles odds, run line and total

Dodgers vs. Orioles prediction and pick

While Sheehan got lit up in his most recent start, allowing five earned runs in less than four innings, his metrics in the three prior starts are incredibly promising. He logged 17 innings and only allowed five earned runs. Overall, even with a poor start mixed in, he has a 3.25 xERA. I'm bullish that Sheehan will grow into his role as a starter long term with his ceiling as a strikeout producer.

Sheehan averaged more than 14 strikeouts per nine innings in Double-A this season, but is punching out less than seven so far in the bigs. With more reps, he should find his control.

The Orioles decided to bring Rodriguez back up after leaving him in the minors for a few months thanks to a shaky start to the year with the MLB roster. Rodriguez posted a 7.35 ERA in 10 starts for Baltimore.

However, Rodrigez was lights out at Triple-A, posting a 1.96 ERA through eight starts, leading to him getting another crack with the contending O's.

However, he now faces a Dodgers lineup that's leading the way in a number of major hitting stats over the last month -- they're top five in OPS and wRC+ over the last 30 days, per MLB.com. I'm going to give the edge to the Dodgers on the road as I don't believe in Rodriguez bouncing back just yet.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.