Yusei Kikuchi is part of our MLB betting guide for Wednesday!
Yusei Kikuchi is part of our MLB betting guide for Wednesday! 
MLB

MLB Betting Guide: 2 Best Bets and Our Top Player Prop for Wednesday, April 10

Mike Noblin

Our MLB selections suffered our first really bad night of the new season on Tuesday. The best bets went 1-2 and the player props took an o'fer at 0-2. Mama said there'd be days like this and she was NOT wrong!

That's just how it goes in this crazy world of sports betting. It's why I constantly preach about conservative money management principles. The year to date numbers are still very good at 19-10, but we need to find our footing this week, so let's get to it. (Side note: all of these are afternoon games)

Dodgers -0.5 (First 5 Innings) -120 (DraftKings)

I was lucky enough to find this at -105 earlier this morning but still think it's worth a play at the current number. Bobby Miller ran into a buzzsaw against the Cubs his last time out, but I think he bounces back just fine today against the Twinkies.

Miller hits 99 on the gun with both his fastball and his sinker, so Minny could be in for a long day at the plate. His 43.8% K-rate puts him in the 98th percentile in MLB, even though it's a small 2-start sample size. I'm playing the first 5 innings route since I don't trust the Dodgers bullpen.

There's no doubt that LA has the better offense in this one. The Boys in Blue are averaging 5.9 runs per 9 innings and they have 5 hitters with expecting slugging percentages of .407 or higher. Minnesota is only scratching out 2.9 runs per 9 so far this season. As a fan, I hate the Dodgers, but my money's on them today.

Diamondbacks -132

The D'Backs burned me on Monday night, but I'm willing to try them again today in the friendly confines of Coors Field. Arizona is off to a surprisingly slow 5-7 start to the year, but it's only a matter of time before they bust loose. They only scored 3 last night but held on for a win.

Let's be honest. Both of these starting pitchers leave a whole lot to desired. Arizona's Tommy Henry is currently 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA, even though his ground ball rate has been much better so far. Colorado's Austin Gomber has an ERA of 6.23 and a walk rate of 14.6%, which could spell trouble at Coors.

All in all, I like Arizona's lineup and bullpen much better than Colorado's. I also think this price is way too cheap on the defending NL champs, as I made this AZ -150 or so. Lay the reasonable juice with the Snakes!

Yusei Kikuchi Over 5.5 Ks (-132) (FanDuel)

I've only played 7 strikeout props so far this season and we're 4-3. I usually don't crank up the volume on player props until sometime in May. A larger sample size always makes me more comfortable with my projections.

All of that said, I think Kikuchi carves up this very strikeout prone Mariners lineup today. Besides being ice cold, Seattle leads the majors in K-rate (28.5%). The M's have 5 everyday players that strike out 27% of the time or higher.

Kikuchi hasn't pitched much against his former team, but he did rack up 8 Ks against Seattle on July 21st of last season. Kikuchi's median strikeout number was 6 in 2023 and I think he gets at least that many today. Let's cash it!

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