Yeeehaaaw! I'm safely back in the home office after a 3-day stint in the ever so lovable desert known as Las Vegas. It was a terrific time and I'm super blessed to work with the best sportsbook affiliate in the industry!
That said, it was a rough trip for our MLB picks, as we ended up 1-2 yesterday. We've lost 5 plays this week by either a half a run or a half a strikeout.
That's just how it goes sometimes on the diamond. Anyway, let's get back to the winner's circle with 3 MLB player props for Thursday, May 23.
Good luck today, and enjoy the daytime baseball. Two of these plays are early start times, so get those wagers in quickly, folks!
Top MLB Bonus: Get $1,500 in Bonus Bets at BetMGM
My numbers have a sharp disagreement with the books on this one, so let's see if we can take advantage of what i feel is a bad number. I made this line 6.5, mainly because Cincy has struggled all season long to put the ball in play aginst righties.
The Reds have 3 everyday players with strikeout rates of 27% or higher. We hate to keep picking on Will Benson, but he's almost always good for 2 punchouts per game. I get that the books are expecting a short outing from Waldron.
Despite that, I think the Reds could have some trouble with Waldron's knuckleball. Even if that pitch isn't working, Waldron can still hit 91 on the gun with his fastball with an above average amount of extension (74th percentile). Let's ride this early Over with a cup of your favorite coffee!
Anytime I can get Big Zack at a nice price, I'm buying! The Phillies continue to impress even their haters with their hot start to 2024. The club is 36-14 through their first 50 games, which is the best start to a season in franchise history!
I don't expect the Phils to slow down today at all, even against a decent lefty like Andrew Heaney. Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, and Edmundo Sosa all hit bombs yesterday for the Phils, so we know the lineup is seeing the ball well. The Rangers have been ice cold, as they've only won 2 of their last 10 games.
Back to Wheeler, he's been his usual dominant self this season. His 29.1% K-rate ranks in the 84th percentile and his expected batting average allowed is just .195. Look for him to dominate this struggling Texas lineup.
Here's another W prop that I just can't resist! I love watching G-Rod pitch, especially when his command is in order. Rodriguez throws 96 mph with an extension that puts him in the 95th percentile.
The young righty spent some time on IL, but looked fantastic in his first start back against Seattle last week. He only gave up 1 hit through 6 innings, and I think he mows down this Chi-Sox lineup tonight.
Baltimore was surprisingly swept by St. Louis yesterday, so I'm expecting a maximum effort from their lineup today in this one. Look for guys like Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman to get a few early runs off of White Sox starter Mike Clevinger.