I hope everyone had a phenomenal Memorial Day weekend. Sports betting and barbecues sound like the perfect weekend if I've ever heard of one. Now it is time to get back in the lab and find some great player props for the MLB slate.
Last week was a success, as I went 2-1 on Wednesday. Freddy Peralta pitched an excellent game, while Michael King was able to garner six strikeouts. Unfortunately, Taijuan Walker just eclipsed his over in strikeouts and missed out on the perfect 3-0 record. The season does not stop, so today we have a good amount of games to dissect and find the right props. Let's see which three props made the final cut.
Shota Imanaga Over 17.5 Outs (-195)
The Shota Imanaga train is still on the tracks and there is no end in sight. Imanaga owns the best ERA in baseball at 0.84. He is just dominant at this point. His fastball averages out to 92 MPH, which is slow for today's standards, but it does not matter in the slightest. Hitters are batting a staggering .164 against his fastball. They cannot hit most of his pitches it seems.
Imanaga is the clear-cut favorite to take home the NL Rookie of the Year but is now making a case for the NL Cy Young award as well. He looks to continue that trend against the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers, who were held hitless for most of yesterday's game. The Brewers have been running away with the division so far, but the Cubs have the talent to match them. They picked up a key win last night and might be able to replicate that success with their ace on the bump.
Imanaga tends to get the over 17.5 outs with ease unless he gets hit a decent amount. The Brewers have put together a nice hitting season thus far, but this is their first time facing the dominant Imanaga. I love picking this over for the potential Rookie of the Year.
Seth Lugo Under 5.5 Hits Allowed (-135)
Seth Lugo has been a relief pitcher for most of his time in the MLB. However, last season was his first real opportunity to become a starter in a rotation. He was okay with the San Diego Padres, as he posted an 8-7 record with a 3.57 ERA and 140 strikeouts. This year with the Kansas City Royals has seen Lugo take it up a few notches. As of today, Lugo is 8-1 with a 1.67 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. Lugo has been nothing short of dominant.
In his last matchup against the Minnesota Twins, Lugo went six innings and only allowed two hits. The Twins have a tendency to struggle against right-handed pitchers this season. Against righties, the Twins are batting a lowly .219, which is the third-worst in all of baseball. The Twins just can't seem to hit against righties, which is bad news with them facing Lugo.
Furthermore, Lugo is excellent on the road. In five starts on the road, Lugo is 5-0 and has a 0.76 ERA. This looks like this should be a monstrous performance for him tonight. Take the under on his hits allowed with no hesitation.
Luis Gil Over 17.5 Outs (-130)
The New York Yankees were heading into the season with a big question mark in the rotation. They would be without the reigning AL Cy Young winner, Gerrit Cole, for a long time. Who was going to step up for them? The answer is Luis Gil. Prior to this season, Gil only managed seven career starts. He has already surpassed that total this season alone. In his 10 starts for this season, Gil has been beyond impressive. He is becoming a dominant young pitcher right before our eyes.
Gil is a wizard on the mound, as he is able to strike out batters with ease. That was put on display when he amassed 14 strikeouts against the Chicago White Sox. However, I am not touching his strikeouts prop. I instead want to play his over on outs.
In five straight starts, Gil has hit the over. He is starting to have a masterful command on the mound that allows him to hit this over easily. The only hiccup in his game can be his walks from time to time. Luckily, his opponent today is not the best at drawing walks.
The Los Angeles Angels are the fifth-worst team in walk percentage. They are not going to walk a bunch, which helps Gil to be able to hit this over. Until he begins to slow down, I think it is the perfect time to ride Luis Gil.
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