Welcome to the Thursday slate, MLB fans. There are plenty of intriguing matchups on the board, and lots of folks are fixated on Milwaukee vs. San Fran and Baltimore vs. Washington.
While those will probably turn out to be fabulous games, I've found some hidden betting value on the Mariners vs. Red Sox tilt at 1:35 PM Eastern Time. Let's take a closer look at the starting pitchers and lineups before giving out our top player prop for April 24th. Best of luck, my friends.
Oddsmakers are favoring Boston quite a bit in this matchup, as the opening line priced the Red Sox as a -165 favorite at home in Fenway Park. There's been nothing but Boston money so far, and the line now sits in the -175 to -185 range in favor of the BoSox.
Judging by the run total, sportsbooks are expecting a low-scoring affair Today in Beantown. The number opened at 8 runs, and most shops are juicing the Over. The low number makes plenty of sense because both teams have excellent starting pitchers on the mound today.
A couple of high-velocity hurlers will do battle in this one, so we could see an awful lot of strikeouts. Young righty Bryan Woo will toe the rubber for Seattle against Boston's Garrett Crochet, who is arguably the best lefty in baseball. Both of these guys throw over 95 mph with ease.
Woo has above-average stuff, and his last name brings me fond memories of Ric Flair shouting WOOOO during WWE matches. The 25-year-old is coming off a fantastic 2024 season where he went 9-3 with a tiny 2.89 ERA.
The Red Sox made a huge splash in the offseason by picking up Crochet, and he's more than lived up to the hype so far. The former No. 11 overall draft pick is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA and an insanely good whiff rate. Crochet has the ability to strike out 10 or more guys against this Seattle lineup.
Both of these offenses have done a good job of scoring runs so far in 2025. The Mariners rank a respectable 7th in WRC+ against lefties. Guys like Cal Raleigh, Jorge Polanco, and Dylan Moore have been knocking the cover off the ball this season.
Boston currently ranks 12th in WRC+ against righties, but they've been heating up quite nicely over the last week or so. The Red Sox have plenty of power in their lineup, as Trevor Story, Rafael Devers, and Wilyer Abreu all have expected slugging percentages above .496.
SEA at BOS - 1:35 PM EDT
Crochet is going to get most of the attention in this matchup, and rightfully so. However, I just can't ignore how good Woo has been over the last couple of years. Both his sinker and his 4-seamer are in the 95 to 96 mph range. He can also get some swings and misses with his slider.
Woo had a median strikeout number of 5 last season, but I bumped that up to 6.5 because of Boston's free-swinging lineup. The Red Sox have the 6th-highest K-rate in baseball against righties. Give me this plus money Over!