Ryan Weathers has struck out 18 batters in 16 innings. Tonight, he faces the Los Angeles Angels, the most strikeout-prone team in the league, and I'm expecting another solid start from the Yankees pitcher. Elsewhere, I have my eye on Michael King against the Seattle Mariners and Michael Busch against the Philadelphia Phillies' pitching staff. Here are the best MLB player props for Tuesday, April 14.
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Tuesday’s Best MLB Player Props & Bets
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook | This Season: 3-3-0 (+0.44 units)
Ryan Weathers Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+145)
Ryan Weathers has struck out seven batters in two of his three starts this season. In one of those appearances, he only pitched 4.1 innings. And in the only game in which he didn't strike out at least seven batters, he pitched just 3.2 innings and still managed to strike out four.
The Angels can't get out of their own way at the plate this season. They lead the Majors with 167 strikeouts in 17 games. That's an average of 9.8 strikeouts per game. Weathers is a strikeout pitcher, and though he has barely any experience against the Angels' lineup, he's not going to find a better matchup this season.
Michael King Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-112)
Michael King struck out six Tigers in his first start of the season. Since then, he's struck out five or fewer batters in each of his starts, despite pitching at least 5.2 innings in each of those games. Yet, I'm still backing him to reach six strikeouts in this matchup.
King has had great success against the Mariners in his career. He's struck out 21 batters in 62 at-bats. Most importantly, those strikeouts have been evenly dispersed. It's not like King is just picking on one batter. Instead, he's struck out 10 players who are currently members of the Mariners, striking out each of those batters five or fewer times.
The Mariners have struck out 161 times this year, giving them the fourth-most strikeouts in the league. King doesn't rack up a lot of strikeouts, but as long as he pitches five innings, as he's done in every game this season, I'm willing to take a chance on him in a great matchup.
Michael Busch Under 1.5 Total Bases (-140)
This prop comes at a hefty price, but I really don't understand why it isn’t set at 0.5. Michael Busch has appeared in 15 games this season, compiling just nine total bases during that time. He's batting just .135 this year, and he's only hit safely in two of his 10 April games.
Worst of all, Busch hasn't had an extra-base hit since his first game of the season, when he hit two doubles. Therefore, there's very little chance that he hits the over with one swing. That means he needs at least two hits, which is a big ask for a player with just six all season.
Tonight, he'll face Phillies starter Aaron Nola. He has a hit off Nola, but he's just 1-for-5 with two strikeouts against him. And, his one hit was just a single.
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