Another day, another jam-packed slate of baseball with a full 15 games on tap on Wednesday — and plenty of opportunities for those looking for profitable MLB player props. With so many options to choose from, we’re here to help with three of our favorite plays of the evening (all odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook).
MLB player prop bets: Wednesday, September 13
CJ Abrams, over 1.5 total bases (+110)
You’d be forgiven for no longer paying attention to the 2023 Washington Nationals, but if you haven’t been lately, you’ve missed the long-awaited CJ Abrams breakout:
GO BRIDGE, CJ ABRAMS pic.twitter.com/ImpcYmBY2f
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 11, 2023
One of the top prospects in all of baseball when San Diego included him as part of the return in the Juan Soto trade, Abrams got off to a rocky start to his tenure in D.C. Lately, though, the former top-10 pick has been on one: The shortstop is hitting .258/.320/.464 overall in the second half, including three homers and three steals over his last seven games. The Pirates will use reliever Colin Selby as an opener on Wednesday, but it’s rookie Quinn Priester — who enters with a 9.10 ERA and a .381/.468/.714 slash line allowed to lefties this season — who’s expected to get the bulk of the innings, putting Abrams in line for another monster day at the plate.
Taj Bradley, over 5.5 strikeouts (-120)
Bradley has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster over the course of his rookie season, but one thing the righty has always possessed is the ability to rack up strikeouts: He boasts a K rate in the 86th percentile, and he’s cleared this strikeout total in four of his last five outings — despite matchups against the Mariners, Astros, Orioles and Rangers. The competition gets a lot friendlier on Wednesday, as Bradley and the Rays take on a Twins team that has the fourth-highest K rate against right-handed pitching over the last month. If Bradley is able to make it through even five innings tonight, he should have no problem hitting this number.
Connor Phillips, over 5.5 strikeouts (-110)
Speaking of rookies with questionable command but very big stuff: Phillips struggled in his first Major League start against Seattle last week — he allowed five runs over 4.2 innings — but the young righty still managed to strike out seven batters, showing off the fastball/slider combination that allowed him to put up an eye-popping 13.2 K/9 in the Minors this year. The Tigers (28.9% K rate against righties over the last three weeks) at Comerica Park are a far less imposing proposition than the Mariners at Great American Ball Park, and Phillips won’t need to go too deep into this game to hit this number.
