MLB Player Props for Friday, April 5th
The 2024 MLB season is finally here. After another wild offseason and an exciting couple of weeks of Spring Training, we’re ready for some games that matter. This season, VSiN Managing Editor Adam Burke will have you covered when it comes to MLB sides and totals in his daily best bets column. You’ll also get some First Five Inning analysis from Jonathan Von Tobel. On top of that, our analytics guru Steve Makinen will feed you some interesting trends and systems on a daily basis. But I’ll be focusing specifically on MLB player props this season, dishing out at least three per day every Monday to Friday. With that in mind, let’s get into the plays for Friday, April 5th.
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Tampa Bay Rays at Colorado Rockies – 4:10 pm ET
Amed Rosario is off to a slow start with the Rays, batting .167 with no homers and just one RBI thus far. But Rosario is going to snap out of that funk soon, and he’ll be going up against lefty Austin Gomber today. In his career, Rosario is batting .298 with 12 triples, 58 doubles, 23 homers and 103 RBIs against southpaws. So, I like the idea of taking a shot on him today, especially with winds of 40 mph blowing out at Coors Field. This is already one of the most hitter-friendly environments in sports, and adding that wind on will make this a fun game to watch. And I like Rosario’s price to do some damage more than I do a bunch of the others.
Rosario is also 3 for 9 with a homer and two RBIs against Gomber in his career. So, I’m firing this up with my MLB player props.
Pick: Rosario Over 2.5 Hits+Runs+RBIs (-105)
Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals – 6:45 pm ET
Aaron Nola got lit up in his first start of the year, giving up six earned runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings of work. Of course, Nola was facing an elite Atlanta Braves offense. He should be in a much better position against the Nationals. But Nola’s coming off a down year in 2023 and it feels like he’s still being priced as an elite pitcher. That said, I like some Nationals to do some damage today, as I can see this being a relatively high-scoring game.
When sorting through today’s MLB player props, I decided to pounce on CJ Abrams to have two combined hits, runs and RBIs. Abrams is at his best against right-handed pitching and he’s already batting .333 with two homers and five RBIs this season. He has the power to go out and win this on his own, or he can get it done with his electric base-running. One single and a run scored cashes this play.
Pick: Abrams Over 1.5 Hits+Runs+RBIs (+110)
Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels – 9:40 pm ET
Kutter Crawford threw 6.0 shutout innings and struck out seven batters in a start against the Seattle Mariners on March 30th. He kept the momentum going after a solid couple of outings in Spring Training, where he was also pretty good with his swing-and-miss stuff. Well, Crawford is now facing an Angels team that had the fourth-highest strikeout rate (25.3%) in the league against right-handed pitching last season. And the Angels are already seventh in the league in that regard in 2024.
I like Crawford to miss at least six bats in this game. Crawford struck out eight Angels over 8.1 innings in two meetings with the team last season. If he can continue to get one per inning, you’re probably looking at a win with this MLB player prop. And I’m going to put a little extra on this one, which I don’t normally do with MLB props.
Pick: Crawford Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-115 – 1.5 units)
Added Plays
Gleyber Torres Over 1.5 Runs+Hits+RBIs (-140) vs. Blue Jays
Spencer Steer Over 1.5 Runs+Hits+RBIs (-125) vs. Mets
Hendricks Over 15.5 Outs (+102) vs. Dodgers
Zack Littell Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+140) vs. Rockies
Jared Jones Over 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed (+100) vs. Orioles
Matt Olson Over 1.5 Total Bases (+112) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
