Best Bets on Today’s MLB Player Props Market
The 2023 MLB season is underway and VSiN has you covered with every way you can possibly bet on a baseball game. As always, Adam Burke will have daily best bets to give you some ideas of what to back when it comes to moneylines, run lines and totals. However, I’m tackling player props here, and I’m targeting Alex Verdugo, Kyle Hendricks and Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday, August 9th. Keep reading to find out how I’m betting on all of them.
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MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on August 9
Here are our favorite MLB prop bets for Wednesday, August 9th:
Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox (-225, 10.5)
Alex Verdugo slowed down considerably after a hot start to the season, and he even reached a point where he was so cold that Boston had him take a seat for a few games. But Verdugo has looked a lot better since the start of August, and he actually had a double in Tuesday’s loss to this Royals team. That came after a three-hit performance against the Toronto Blue Jays just three days ago, so Verdugo is clearly starting to see the ball a bit better.
The reality is that Verdugo’s cold month of July doesn’t take away from the fact that he is batting .292 with three triples, 22 doubles and eight homers against right-handed pitching this season. He’s a guy that has always been extremely dangerous against righties, and he now gets to face Jordan Lyles. Lyles has been one of the worst starters in baseball all year, as he’s 3-12 with a 6.24 ERA.
I just wouldn’t be surprised if this is a solid day at the plate for the Red Sox outfielder. And I think he’s badly mispriced at +125 to go Over 1.5 total bases.
Bet: Verdugo Over 1.5 Total Bases (+125)
Chicago Cubs at New York Mets (-115, 9)
Kyle Hendricks got roughed up in his start against the Atlanta Braves on August 4th, giving up seven earned runs in 4.0 innings. But the righty had pitched at least 6.0 innings in each of his previous three starts, so I still think he’s a great bet to go Over 16.5 outs recorded in this meeting with the Mets.
Hendricks got roughed up a bit by New York in his first start of the year, as he gave up three earned runs on six hits in 4.1 innings of work. But that was his first start off a stint on the IL, and he should be more comfortable this time around. Hendricks is also one of the smartest pitchers in the league, so he should find a better way to approach this Mets lineup. And it doesn’t hurt that this New York team has scored three or fewer runs in six of its last seven games. Hendricks is getting the Mets at the right time.
I’m not sure The Professor will shut this New York lineup down tonight. But I think he’ll flirt with a quality start, which would put him Over the number.
Bet: Hendricks Over 16.5 Outs Recorded (-115)
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Angels (-135, 8)
Shohei Ohtani had to leave his last start with cramps in his hand, and he did so after striking out four batters in 4.0 scoreless innings. The bright side of that is that Ohtani only threw 59 pitches in that outing. So, the superstar should be feeling fresh for this game. With that in mind, it’s hard not to back him to go Over 7.5 strikeouts against this Giants offense.
Ohtani had reached eight strikeouts in back-to-back starts before leaving that last one with an injury, and he has gone Over tonight’s mark in 11 of his 21 starts this season. Now, Ohtani gets to face a San Francisco lineup that has the fourth-highest strikeout rate in baseball. Ohtani had nine strikeouts against the Giants when he faced them back in 2021, and I just don’t see him running into a hard time trying to do it here. The fact that you can get this at plus-money odds is just a bonus.
The only thing to worry about here is the possibility of Los Angeles deciding to be cautious with Ohtani. But the team hasn’t really done that with him all year, so there’s no reason to believe it’ll start now.
Bet: Ohtani Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+110)
Did you know that you can parlay these three picks together at +783 odds? Try out our VSiN Parlay Calculator HERE!
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