There are 11 total games on this Labor Day holiday slate, however, only three games have a first pitch of 8:10 p.m. ET or later on the evening schedule. Those are the games we’ll be focusing upon, including the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants playing at 8:10 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock in the only nationally-televised game. Below are our top MLB player props for Monday, September 7th.
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Monday's Top MLB Player Props
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Alec Burleson To Record 2+ Hits + Runs + RBI (-145)
In that nationally-televised Cardinals-Giants game, we cast an eye to Alec Burleson of the Cardinals. The left-handed hitting first baseman is coming off a 3-for-5 performance with a double and an RBI Sunday in Colorado, and he hit safely in all three games in the Mile High City. That’s at elevation, though. Can he continue the hot hitting at sea level in the Bay Area?
He’ll face Giants RHP Logan Webb in the series opener in San Francisco, and he is 4-for-9 with a home run and four RBIs, good for a 1.222 OPS, in his career against Webb. Sure, it’s not much of a sample size, but admit it, you were already envisioning that splashdown into McCovey Cove, weren’t you? Yeah, me too.
Chase Burns 5+ Strikeouts (-118)
Reds RHP Chase Burns (15-3, 2.79 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) has been one of the few bright spots for Cincinnati Baseball this season. He heads into this game with 171 strikeouts, good for 17th in the Majors. While, yes, the Dodgers have tremendous plate discipline, Burns should still be able to get to at least five strikeouts in this start.
Burns hit the number in all six starts in August, racking up 43 strikeouts in just 32.2 IP, including seven strikeouts last time out against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He also struck out eight Cardinals in a start Aug. 10, and they’re a team with similar plate discipline to the Dodgers, so feel good about Burns hitting this number.
Mookie Betts To Record 2+ Hits + Runs + RBI (-120)
While I think Burns misses a few bats against the Dodgers, he’ll pitch to contact, too. He has allowed six or more hits in each of his past three outings, and at least two walks (1.5 per start in August) in three of his past six outings.
Betts should be able to get aboard against a guy who has allowed 7.0 hits per start in his past three outings lasting just 14.1 IP. That’s a lot of wood put on the ball when Burns has been out there, as he might be running on fumes as we hit September. They’ve only met for three at-bats, with Betts producing a single and a double. That’s not a lot to hang your hat on. Betts does come in hitting .360 (9-for-25) with three doubles, two homers, and 11 RBIs in six September outings, however.
Dylan Cease Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+100)
Cease heads into Monday’s start at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento against the A’s with 221 strikeouts, good for third in the Majors. The A’s rank 10th in Major League Baseball with 1,235 strikeouts across 144 games. As such, Cease is in like to produce plenty of punchouts, and at even-money, he’s worth a roll of the dice to get to eight.
The only thing to give bettors pause is that Cease is working in that smallish park, and there is always a risk of things going sideways. However, he has allowed just one homer in his past four starts over 25 IP, and he has allowed just four runs in that span, so there’s that. In fact, if you want to toss in a same-game parlay, and take Over 17.5 on Outs Recorded (-205), that’s not a terrible idea, either. He has worked at least six innings in four straight starts, and nine of his past 10 outings. And, while he only went 5.1 IP in his very first start of the season March 28 against the A’s in Toronto, he did strike out 12 batters that day.
