There were many impressive player performances over the weekend, from Ben Rice becoming the first rookie in New York Yankees franchise history to hit three home runs in a game (and to do it against their biggest rivals, the Boston Red Sox, nonetheless) to Minnesota Twins slugger Jose Miranda tying the MLB record with a hit in 12 consecutive at-bats. On the National League side, Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.71 with six scoreless innings against the MLB-best Philadelphia Phillies.
Which players do we have our eye on today from a player prop perspective? Read on for our top MLB player prop bets for Tuesday, July 9.
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Tuesday's Best MLB Player Prop Bets
(MLB player prop bet odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Bryson Stott Over 0.5 runs (+125)
Bryson Stott batted leadoff for the Phillies for the ninth time on Sunday, but he will likely benefit from being moved down in the lineup with Kyle Schwarber's return from the IL. Stott has slashed .229/.300/.257 in the leadoff spot this season, but has a .333/.488/.433 in his 10 starts in the No. 7 spot, and has scored 13 runs in 18 games when he bats sixth. Considering he is facing a pitcher in Bobby Miller who has pitched to a 9.64 ERA and a .345 OBA in four road starts, there is great value for Stott to cross the plate at least once.
Miller is the only pitcher on the Dodgers staff who has a negative WAR rating among those who have made three-plus starts this season. He has made a quality start just once in six appearances, and ever since he struck out 11 St. Louis Cardinals hitters in his first start, he has not topped four strikeouts in any of the previous five. Miller now potentially faces a much deeper Phillies lineup, especially if Bryce Harper also returns from a hamstring injury, and there is great value on Stott scoring at least one run for the third time in his seventh game in July.
Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 total bases (+100)
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz has been the team’s best hitter against southpaws this season, slashing .326/.362/.477 with a team-high 41 total bases in that split. Diaz now faces Yankees lefty Carlos Rodon, who has struggled mightily over the last four starts. Through his first 14 starts, Rodon has pitched to a 2.93 ERA and New York was 11-3 in that stretch. However, Rodon has lost four consecutive starts while pitching to a 10.89 ERA, and has been lit up for a .444 BABIP while allowing 3.32 home runs per nine innings in that span. Rodon has allowed a home run on 25% of his fly balls in that stretch, and while Diaz’s +500 odds to hit a home run are enticing, we are still getting decent odds for him to go over his total bases prop for the 11th time in his last 17 games.
Max Scherzer Over 6.5 strikeouts (+125)
Max Scherzer is making his fourth start of the season, and has gone deeper into the game in each of his previous three starts, recording 15, 16, and 19 outs. Scherzer threw 61 of his season-high 90 pitches for strikes in his last outing against the San Diego Padres, and he walked away from his start against the Baltimore Orioles two starts ago saying, "Finally, I’m starting to get over this thumb issue. I’ve still got some nerve stuff up in the shoulder, but that kind of subsided. I’m kind of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this. Physically, I’m finally getting in a better spot."
That leaves us encouraged to believe Scherzer will go over the four strikeout mark for the first time this season, especially when facing a Los Angeles Angels lineup that entered Monday having scored one or fewer runs in four of their last five games. The Angels have surprisingly struck out at the fifth-lowest rate (17.2%) while struggling offensively in July, but Scherzer struck out 11 Angels over seven innings in his first start against them last year since 2014, and this should be the start where we see him take off and return to the Hall of Fame caliber pitcher that he is.
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.