MLB Player Props & Bets: Friday (7/17)
The MLB season is in full swing. Every Friday in this column, we will seek to attack pitcher matchups. We won't bore you with exclusively under only plays, but we won't shy away from them if they offer more value than usual. Total strikeouts, outs recorded, and, as the season progresses, total hits and total bases; they're all in play. Let’s dig into our top MLB player props and picks for Friday’s slate of games.
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MLB Player Props & Bets: Friday (7/17)
Season Record: 30-16
Mookie Betts Over 0.5 Hits (-190 at ProphetX)
Batting just .235 on the season, Mookie is only appearing in this column due to a tasty matchup against a familiar foe in Gerrit Cole. Betts is .429 lifetime over 14 at-bats (6-14) against the Yankees hurler (albeit with zero extra-base hits).
Betts has at least one hit in three of his last four games. And while his start to July has been disappointing, he is coming off his strongest month of the season in June, which saw him bat .290 over 107 at-bats. He has been much better this season against right handers batting .259 vs just .181 against lefties.
Cole has had struggles returning to form from Tommy John surgery this season and currently sits with a pedestrian 4.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. This total will likely be 1.5 outside of alt lines by game time, so lock this one in sooner than later to avoid the extra vig.
Freddie Freeman Over 0.5 Hits (-205 at ProphetX)
Freddie Freeman is batting a strong .290 on the season, an average that has been buoyed by his .317 average against right handed pitchers like today’s opponent, Gerrit Cole. Freeman has found success against the former Cy Young winner and comes into this one with a .350 lifetime average over 20 at-bats, with four extra-base hits.
The Dodgers hitter has at least one hit in 16 of his last 21 games and will be facing a Cole, who has struggled to the tune of a 4.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. This is the multiple-time All-Star's first season under a 9.00 K/9 since 2017 and also his first season since then with a WHIP over 1.13 (2024, 1.06 was the highest prior). Lock this one in at ProphetX before the line changes, as it is already at 1.5 at most books. Kalshi and BetMGM also have it at 0.5, for now.
Chris Sale Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-159 at Underdog Sportsbook)
Sale has been elite for the Atlanta Braves this season and comes into tonight’s contest with an excellent 2.20 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He has racked up a 10.65 K/9, and while that number has come in lower than anticipated for Sale, it is still an elite mark by any other measure for almost any other pitcher in baseball. Sale is, however, the all-time K/9 career leader among pitchers with at least 2000 innings pitched, so we expected (hoped) something more in line with his 11.12 career average.
That said, his K/9 numbers inspire confidence for the Over today, especially at the much more favorable and higher probability 6.5 strikeouts as opposed to the 7.5 it is listed at elsewhere. The Texas Rangers average 8.96 strikeouts per game on the road. Slap the Over on Sale for Friday night at Underdog Sportsbook.
Raju Byfield is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyContext.