It’s been a great weekend of MLB action, and the fun continues on Sunday with a full slate of 15 games. I have two player props in mind that I will share here this morning, but before you consider these plays, be sure to check out what our full team of MLB writers have backed with previews for all 15 games today/tonight.
Dylan Cease over 6.5 strikeouts (-121)
Line available at DraftKings at time of publishing
Dylan Cease will toe the rubber against the Tigers today, and they have generally been a good team to pitch against. Detroit has one of, if not the weakest offense in baseball, and they are striking out a ton. Their 590 strikeouts on the year are second-most in the Majors, and they struck out nine times against Lucas Giolito yesterday.
Cease is more than capable of generating swings and misses, as his strikeout rate is in the 76th percentile of all MLB pitchers. In addition, his whiff rate is in the 90th percentile and his chase rate is in the 74th percentile. He faced the Tigers back on April 29 and struck out nine batters over 7.0 innings. That success continued a theme for the right-hander, as he is 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA in six career starts against Detroit.
He is definitely comfortable pitching against the Tigers, and he has also been much better at home this season. Cease holds a 1.99 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 31.2 innings at Guaranteed Rate Field on the year. Look for him to keep the punch outs coming against a weak Detroit lineup.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox.
Dane Dunning over 4.5 strikeouts (+100)
Line available at DraftKings at time of publishing
Dane Dunning has already seen the Rays once this season, and he struck out five over 4.0 innings. The Rays lead the league in strikeouts with 636 in 60 games, and that gives them an average of 10.6 strikeouts per game. I like Dunning’s chances of reaching half of that to get us over this total of 4.5.
Dunning ranks in the 82nd percentile of all MLB pitchers in terms of chase rate, and he could be catching the Rays at the right time. Tampa Bay is hitting just .174 over their last six games, and they have struggled so far in this series. Texas starters Kyle Gibson and Kolby Allard were able to punch out five and six hitters respectively in the first two games of this series on Friday and Saturday. Dunning has been comfortable in the hitter-friendly Globe Life Field, and he has 33 strikeouts in 27.0 innings at home. Consider backing him to reach five strikeouts with some good value at +100.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Tampa Bay Rays vs Texas Rangers.
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