Kevin Davies
Show Bio
It’s a smaller day of games in Major League Baseball with most of the action occurring during the day. It’s a get-away day for a lot of teams who will play a day game today in order to travel to their weekend series tonight. But before we can get to Friday, I’ve found my 2 best MLB player prop bets to lock in. Let’s get into it, while you can also read our MLB picks for today’s games.
Dylan Cease (SD) Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-128)
Available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
Dylan Cease has had a roller coaster of a season. He started strong, but an ERA above 4 in May and June was concerning. However, Cease has bounced back with 2 of the best outings of his career. Cease reportedly made a tweak in his mechanics before his last start of the first half of the season, and it has made a massive difference in his performance. In his last 2 starts against the Braves and Guardians, Cease has not allowed a run while surrendering only 2 hits and 4 walks while recording an unbelievable 21 strikeouts in 13 innings. Cease has limited hitters to a 0.066 xBA with a 46% strikeout rate and 26% hard-hit rate in those outings. His fastball velocity has also gone up as the right-hander touched 100 MPH several different times in his last 2 starts which is quite the jump from his average fastball that’s just 96 MPH. Plus, Cease faced the Nationals earlier this season and threw a 1-hitter and punched out 9 batters. I’m extremely confident taking this over.
Don’t miss out on today’s MLB parlay picks at +875 odds!
Taj Bradley (TB) Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-150)
Available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
I’m baffled by this line. Taj Bradley has recorded 5 or more strikeouts in 11 of his 13 starts this season. The young right-hander has been phenomenal in the Tampa Bay rotation this season with a 2.63 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, and he holds the highest strikeout rate of his young career at nearly 30%. But looking at just his 5 most recent starts, Bradley’s strikeout rate improves to 31% and he’s limited hitters to just a .151 batting average. Bradley has the perfect arsenal to get plenty of swings and misses since he has a high-velocity fastball that pairs well with a disappearing splitter and then a wicked curveball.
He hasn’t faced the Blue Jays too often in his career, but in 38 plate appearances against this Toronto lineup, he has a 21.1% strikeout rate and just a 2.6% walk rate. I’ve been loving what I’ve seen from Bradley in the last month or so, and setting a line this low is just disrespectful to the success he’s had recently.
