MLB Player Props & Bets: Tuesday (5/12)
Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight, and I love his matchup against the Colorado Rockies. I also highlight why Slade Cecconi won't be able to take care of business against the Los Angeles Angels’ struggling lineup, and why I expect Byron Buxton to have a solid game at the plate. Here are the best MLB player props and bets for May 12.
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Tuesday’s Best MLB Player Props & Bets
This Season: 7-10-0 (-1.69 units) | Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Paul Skenes Over 7.5 Strikeouts (-101)
Getting Skenes against the most strikeout-prone team in the league is a must-play in my book. Heading into today's games, the Rockies are the only team in the league to strike out more than 400 times, averaging 9.78 per game. Now, they're tasked with figuring out a pitcher who is averaging 9.86 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.
Skenes has only struck out more than seven batters in one start this season. That performance came in just 5.0 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. The problem for Skenes has been his ability to pitch late into games, as he has only had four starts with 6.0 innings or more.
However, Skenes has pitched at least 7.0 innings in two of his last three starts, and he pitched 8.0 innings in his last outing. He's struck out at least seven batters in three consecutive games, and he hasn't struck out fewer than five in seven consecutive starts. With such a high floor, and with him throwing his best stuff of late, I'll back him in an excellent matchup.
Slade Cecconi Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-105)
The second-most strikeout-prone team in the MLB is the Angels. The Angels have 397 strikeouts this season, and they're tied for 18th in total hits. But for as problematic as their bats have been, the Angels have still managed to score plenty this season, as they rank 12th in the league in runs scored. That's why I hate this matchup for Cecconi.
Cecconi has a 6.15 ERA, and he's allowed multiple runs in six of his eight starts this season. On five different occasions, he's allowed at least four earned runs, and he's allowed six earned runs twice. Allowing this many runs, it's no surprise that Cecconi has only reached 6.0 innings once this season.
Cecconi also doesn't strike out very many batters. He has just 31 strikeouts in 41.0 innings, and he's struck out four or fewer batters in five of his last six starts. He also has yet to strike out more than six batters in a game, and he's only struck out more than one batter per inning in one start.
Byron Buxton Over 1.5 Total Bases (-101)
Buxton is 0-of-3 in his career against Eury Perez, but he enters tonight's game with a hot bat, and Perez hasn't been pitching very well. Buxton has hit safely in four consecutive games and in 21 of his last 25 games overall. So with such a high floor, it's just about Buxton finding a way to get that second base.
This season, Buxton has 42 hits, and 21 of them have been for extra bases. He has two doubles and two home runs in his last three games.
Perez has been hit hard this season, giving up 38 hits in 41.1 innings. He's allowed seven home runs, and he has allowed at least four hits in all but two of his starts. He's allowed at least six hits in three of his last six appearances. Even if he gets the better of the Twins in this matchup, I expect Buxton to find plenty of success with his hot bat.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.