Every team is in action today, as there will be 16 games thanks to a Tigers and Guardians doubleheader. How will Luis Roberts Jr. fair in Colorado? Can Pablo Lopez really strike out nine Pirates, and will Spencer Strider get back to striking out an absurd number of batters?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for Friday, Aug. 18's MLB action.
Friday’s Best MLB PrizePicks Player Predictions
This Season: 71-84
Robert Jr. has never faced Rockies starter Peter Lambert, but that isn't stopping us from taking his over tonight. Robert Jr. has hit 32 home runs this season while leading the White Sox with a .273 batting average. He has hit safely in nine of the 10 games this month in which he registered an at-bat.
Every team is in action today, as there will be 16 games thanks to a Tigers and Guardians doubleheader. How will Luis Roberts Jr. fair in Colorado? Can Pablo Lopez really strike out nine Pirates, and will Spencer Strider get back to striking out an absurd number of batters?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for Friday, Aug. 18's MLB action.
Friday’s Best MLB PrizePicks Player Predictions
This Season: 71-84
Robert Jr. has never faced Rockies starter Peter Lambert, but that isn't stopping us from taking his over tonight. Robert Jr. has hit 32 home runs this season while leading the White Sox with a .273 batting average. He has hit safely in nine of the 10 games this month in which he registered an at-bat.
He's in a hitter’s ballpark tonight, facing a pitcher who gives up plenty of hits. Lambert has allowed 62 in 59.1 innings. Robert Jr. has been very consistent this season, and it would not be surprising to see him record his third multi-hit game of the month tonight.
Lopez strikes out a lot of batters, but he doesn't strike out this many. He has not struck out more than eight batters in a single game since July 5. He struck out nine or more in four of his five starts in late June and early July, but that seems like an outlier.
Lopez is consistently around seven or eight strikeouts, so we’d recommend staying away if this number goes any lower. But with where it's at, the under is the right play. He doesn't have much history against the Pirates, but he has struck out this lineup seven times in 22 at-bats. At that rate, he'd need to pitch nine innings tonight to hit the over.
The Giants have the fourth-most strikeouts in the MLB. Tonight, they face the only pitcher in the league with more than 200 strikeouts on the season. This is a terrible matchup for San Francisco and a great one for Strider.
Two starts ago, Strider had his worst outing of the season. He followed it up with a 7.0-inning, three-hit performance. However, in that game, he only struck out six. Because he has combined for just nine strikeouts in his last two games, it seems bettors have cooled on him. Don't fall for recent trends. Strider could see double-digit strikeouts for the first time since July 26.
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Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
