Happy Thursday! It’s been a long week of baseball and there is baseball on all day. There’s one player prop that I really like today, but before that, be sure to check out our full game previews for tonight’s matchups.
Joe Ryan (MIN) over 4.5 strikeouts (-125)
Line available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Minnesota has a star in Joe Ryan. The No. 4 prospect for the Twins had a 30% strikeout rate in his 5 starts in 2021 and has picked up where he left off as Ryan has a 26.8% strikeout rate in his 2 starts this season. In his last start against the Red Sox, Ryan looked very sharp as he recorded 7 strikeouts and his fastball and slider combination was deadly. He ended up throwing his fastball for 60% of pitches against Boston, but his 90 MPH fastball looked a lot faster after throwing his 78 MPH slider before.
Ryan has never faced the Royals before, so Kansas City has very little scouting on him. He will likely have a longer leash in Thursday’s game, in which he was taken out after 6.0 innings and 82 pitches against the Red Sox. I expect Ryan to throw around 90 pitches. With his efficiency and devastating slider, I think he can record at least 5 strikeouts against the Royals on Thursday.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for the Minnesota Twins vs Kansas City Royals game.
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