Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up (to the tune of cold hard cash) to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.
Utilizing our projections as a guide and looking at the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, here are some spots where you can find value today in the prop-betting market.
Here are some MLB player prop bets to make tonight.
Please note that betting lines and our game projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.
Corey Seager To Hit a Home Run (+390)
The Texas Rangers are rolling with a 4.45 implied run total tonight and bring one of the best offenses in the league to the dish.
The Rangers are putting up runs left and right this season, so getting exposure to their offense is never a bad idea. They are on the road to take on the Chicago White Sox, which is always a good sign since Guaranteed Rate Field is currently playing as the second-best park in the league for home runs. There's also 10-15 mph wind blowing out to right field tonight, setting up a great hitting environment.
Dylan Cease will be on the mound for the White Sox, and while he has plenty of strikeout ability, the fly balls are an issue for him. This season, Cease allows a .420 SLG, 4.67 xFIP, 1.35 HR/9, and 39.5% fly-ball rate to left-handed hitters. That fly-ball rate is dangerous to have with the wind blowing out, but it puts the Rangers in a great spot.
We turn to Corey Seager, who comes in rocking with a 209 wRC+, .471 wOBA, .333 ISO, 53.5% hard-contact rate, and 33.7% fly-ball rate versus right-handed pitchers. You've got to love that type of power in this matchup, so I'm also adding Seager To Record an RBI (+125).
Jose Ramirez To Record 2+ Total Bases (-105)
Jose Ramirez is one of the most consistent hitters in the league, and we're getting him at nearly even money tonight.
JRam is awesome and is hot at the dish right now with six multi-hit games over his last 10 outings. As usual, he is crushing righties this season with a 150 wRC+, .388 wOBA, .212 ISO, 8.5% strikeout rate, .325 BABIP, and 47.6% fly-ball rate. He's getting it done every time he's at the plate, and with the super-low 8.5% strikeout rate, he's not wasting any chances.
He will be up against Luis Medina, who is struggling versus lefty hitters this season by allowing a .368 wOBA, .509 SLG, 1.23 HR/9, and 40.9% hard-contact rate. There's nothing about Medina being on the mound that should have you worried about JRam producing tonight -- it's as simple past that.
Clayton Kershaw Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-106)
For a strikeout prop, over 6.5 punchouts for Clayton Kershaw is the spot to look at tonight.
The veteran continues to get it done on the mound and faces a Los Angeles Angels lineup worth attacking. Yes, the Angels have some power in their lineup, but they also have some strikeouts we should look to target.
Kershaw is carrying a 29.3% strikeout rate, 3.08 xFIP, 14.8% swinging-strike rate, and 31.6% called-plus-swinging-strike (CSW) rate this season. All of that has helped him go over this 6.5 mark in 8 of his 14 starts this season. That's a solid level of consistency Kershaw should look to continue tonight.
The Angels come in with a 22.0% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers while at home this season, which is the 13th-worst in the league. It's not the worst mark, but Kershaw should have plenty of chances tonight to rack up the strikeouts with a long leash. The Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen was heavily utilized over the weekend, which should put Kershaw in a spot to see plenty of hitters.