Top 4 MLB Player Prop Bets Odds & Picks for Saturday, August 20 (2022)
All 30 Major League Baseball teams take the diamond today, and the action starts in New York, where the slumping Yankees host the Blue Jays at 1:05 p.m. ET. There is a 16th game on the schedule today as the Mets and Phillies will play a twin bill in the City of Brotherly Love. With the extra game, there’s no shortage of betting options on the board. Below I’ve listed my top four player props for today’s action.
Odds Courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Marcus Stroman O/U 4.5 Strikeouts
Chicago picked up a win over Milwaukee in an 8-7 barn burner at Wrigley yesterday afternoon. The divisional foes are back at it at 2:20 p.m. ET in Chicago with a pitching matchup featuring Freddy Peralta for the Crew and Marcus Stroman for the Cubs.
Stroman has been reliable this season for Chicago, going just 3-5 but posting a 3.96 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Most recently, he pitched 4.2 innings against the Nationals on Monday night in a no-decision effort. The right-hander allowed four unearned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four.
Stroman has eclipsed five strikeouts in two out of his last three starts and in one out of two outings against the Brewers this year. I’m going to take the over on his strikeout total this afternoon as Milwaukee comes in striking out 23.5 percent of the time, good enough for seventh-most in the Majors.
Bet: Marcus Stroman Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-130 via DraftKings)
Shane Bieber O/U 5.5 Strikeouts
The Guardians earned a 5-2 win over White Sox on Friday night thanks to a career-high 14 punchouts from Triston McKenzie. Cleveland will look to extend their divisional lead (3.5 over CWS) as the rotation turns over and Shane Bieber heads to the mound. The Sox counter with Johnny Cueto in this A.L. Central showdown scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET from Cleveland.
Bieber has rebounded this season after a pedestrian start to the 2022 campaign. The 2020 Cy Young winner comes in at 8-6 with a 3.18 ERA (24th), and 1.10 WHIP (22nd) over 22 starts this year. Bieber last pitched on Sunday against the Blue Jays and held them to two earned runs on eight hits over 7.0 innings. He earned the win and has now won his last four starts.
The right-hander has recorded at least six strikeouts in all four of those outings (6, 8, 8, 8). It’s also worth mentioning that he’s 15th in the league in punchouts with 140. It seems that the days where you could rely on Bieber to go out and get 11+ K’s in an outing are over, but it’s obvious that he still has some nasty stuff. As for the head-to-head numbers, he’s recorded 18 strikeouts in three starts (21.0 IP) against the White Sox this season. I think if he makes it through the 6th, he’ll be able to clear 5.5 K’s.
Bet: Shane Bieber Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-125 via DraftKings)
Paul Goldschmidt O/U 1.5 Total Bases
The Red Birds took game one of their three-game weekend series with the Diamondbacks. It was a 5-1 final in Paul Goldschmidt’s return to the desert. Game two is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET from Chase Field as St. Louis turns to Dakota Hudson. The Snakes counter with Madison Bumgarner.
MadBum has not had his best stuff recently – or all season, really. The veteran southpaw is just 6-12 on the year with a 4.37 ERA (51st) and 1.42 WHIP (55th). Bumgarner was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits and a pair of walks against the Giants on Monday night. He’s now given up 15 earned runs over his last three starts, which translates to a 7.79 ERA this month.
Paul Goldschmidt made his presence known last night with a 3-4 night where he launched a home run and recorded two RBI. The former D’Back is on an MVP pace this year as he leads the league in both batting average (.339) and OPS (1.056). He’s also fourth in RBI (96) and fifth in long balls (30). Finally, Goldy is 25-73 (.342) against Bumgarner with five doubles, three triples, and four homers. Let’s ride with his over on total bases against a slumping Bumgarner.
Bet: Paul Goldschmidt Over 1.5 Total Bases (-145 via DraftKings)
Nolan Arenado O/U 1.5 Total Bases
Keeping it in the same game, let’s lock in the over on Nolan Arenado’s total bases as well. Arenado and Bumgarner squared off plenty of times when the star third baseman was in Colorado, and the lefty was with San Francisco. Arenado is 17-65 (.262) against him, with five doubles and three home runs.
As for his overall numbers, Arenado is hitting .299 (15th) with 25 big flies (15th) and an OPS of .923 (5th). Goldy and Arenado should do some damage tonight in the valley.
Bet: Nolan Arenado Over 1.5 Total Bases (-140 via DraftKings)
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