Saturdays call for action. I couldn’t imagine waking up on a Saturday and not going through hundreds of lines to see what my day will look like. First of all, the MLB usually breaks the day in half. We get games in the afternoon and then we get night games. It’s beautiful. Today is no different as the day is being divided by eight day games and seven night games. The first thing I thought when I saw the board was MLB player props and day games. There is nothing better than having two MLB player props going in the 4pm ET slot of a Saturday. It gives you a fantastic way to spend your afternoon and let’s your action be decided before the night slate begins. This is going to be a great day people.
Don’t forget to check what our MLB analysts have backed with side and total picks for all the games today/tonight. As always, bets can be added to the card, so why not follow me on Twitter in case we get some last-second action? It makes sense.
Eric Lauer over 4.5 strikeouts (+115)
Line available at BetMGM at time of publishing
No matter where we look we will see Lauer’s line in the plus money. It’s +106 at FanDuel, +110 at DraftKings and +115 at BetMGM. It’s all deadly but obviously we want to go with BetMGM since their price is the best. Gotta watch those pennies people!
Lauer really isn’t a “strikeout guy” per se but he can sit guys down when he wants. He’s a 6’3″ 228 pound lefty that went to Kent State so we know he’s legit. He slings it at about 92 MPH and he’s enjoying a career-high 24.9% strikeout rate. He’s hit this number in five of his last six starts and it looks like we could see some 5.5 numbers in his future.
He gets the Pittsburgh Pirates today who have been hitting like Willie Mays Hayes recently. Their .557 OPS over the last week is the worst in the majors. They don’t strike out a ton, but in their last 190 at bats, 46 have ended in the walk of shame back to the dugout. I think Lauer can stay in this game long enough to fan at least five Pirates. This is my favorite MLB player prop of the afternoon. Except for the next one.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Milwaukee Brewers vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Kyle Muller over 5.5 strikeouts (+110)
Line available at DraftKings at time of publishing
© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
We can only get a price on this guy at DraftKings and FanDuel at the moment. BetMGM doesn’t want any smoke with Muller and I don’t blame them. Of the two books that are offering numbers, DraftKings is the best given that they threw out +110 for 5.5 strikeouts. That’s good enough for me.
Not a lot is known in the MLB player prop streets about Muller other than he is a straight-up hulk of a human being. At 6’7″ 250 pounds, I’m pretty sure he could knock out my wife’s boyfriend with one punch. He throws 94 MPH and has a 32.5% strikeout rate. Last time out the Braves let his pitch count run into the 90s and he delivered nine strikeouts. Why won’t that happen again today?
Muller gets the Marlins this afternoon and they are a great team to target in the strikeout arena. They’ve somehow managed to strikeout 45 times in their last 139 at bats which rivals that of a a little league team. Their OPS is .664 while their average is .237 in that span. They just don’t scare anybody at the plate. I think Muller could go nuts today and I’m here for all of it.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Miami Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves
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