Top 5 MLB Player Props Wednesday, August 3 (2022)

Aug 3, 2022 - 2:54 PM

There’s no better way to make day games better than adding player props to your card. Today, we’ve got a loaded card, but I’ve already done the heavy lifting for you. So, sit back and relax while we watch my top five player prop picks of the slate unfold.

Yusei Kikuchi Over 4.5 Hits Allowed (+130)
Toronto vs. Tampa Bay 12:10 pm ET

Yusei Kikuchi is well overdue to get hit around, as he has some of the worst underlying metrics in baseball. He’s in the bottom 10 percent of qualified pitchers in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrel rate and xwOBA. This afternoon, he’s going to face a Tampa Bay team with the 10th-highest average against lefties and ranks 8th in BABIP of lefties. So expect the Rays to put the ball in play and rack up the hits off Kikuchi.

Zack Wheeler Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-130)
Philadelphia vs. Atlanta 12:20 pm ET

Zack Wheeler has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball since May. Thought today, he gets to face one of the hottest teams in baseball since May, the Atlanta Braves. However, Wheeler has already proven that good pitching beats good hitting, as he already struck out 18 Braves in two starts against them this season. In this early afternoon spot, it may take the Braves a bit to catch up, and Wheeler could be in store for another double-digit performance.

Joe Ryan Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+110)
Detroit vs. Minnesota 1:10 pm ET

While this total may be a bit high for Joe Ryan, he’s already shown he’s capable of surpassing it as he has in each of his last two starts. One of them was against this same Tigers team. In fact, Ryan has blown past this number in each of his starts against Detroit this season. Strikeouts come in bunches against this Detroit team as they have the sixth-highest strikeout rate in the Majors, and I expect Ryan to take advantage of it once again.

Shohei Ohtani Under 4.5 Hits Allowed (-130)
Oakland vs. Los Angeles Angels 9:38 pm ET

Now, if you’re looking for a dominant pitcher, look no further than Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani has been incredible this season as he enters with a 2.81 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 17 starts. He’s also racked up 145 strikeouts over 99 innings of work, and today he faces the worst offense in baseball. The Oakland A’s have the lowest team batting average and OBP in the majors. Ohtani has only allowed an average of 4.6 hits per start this season, so given the matchup, there’s a good chance the under hits here.

Alex Cobb Under 4.5 Strikeouts (+100)
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Francisco

While Alex Cobb may be a sabermetric darling, his actual number has yet to reflect his underlying dominance. In this outing, the familiarity of the Dodgers’ potent order will hurt Cobb. The Dodgers just saw Cobb two weeks ago. They did strikeout six times against him, but the Dodgers have the 24th lowest strikeout rate in the league against right-handed pitching. So given that Cobb only averages 5.3 strikeouts this season, the Dodgers are expected to see him well. The under is the side here.

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