There are a hundred ways to describe this star-studded Dodgers squad. One I find rather apt is that Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the $325 million man from last offseason, is only the third-most popular Japanese pitcher on his team.
Granted, injuries last season washed away some of the hype, but a 3.00 ERA and 10.5 K/9 mark is a strong starting point. He looked strong across five innings in Tokyo against the Cubs, allowing only four baserunners and one earned run. I’d expect him to keep the party rolling as he toes the rubber against the Detroit Tigers.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Los Angeles is the home favorite at -218 and the run total is set at 7.5. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Yamamoto.
Best Yoshinobu Yamamoto Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Over 6.5 Strikeouts Thrown (+115)
In 18 starts last year, Yamamoto recorded seven or more strikeouts only eight times. So why am I bullish on him to rack up the Ks in this particular matchup?
One word: experience. In these interleague matchups, it’s rare for the batters to have extensive experience against the starting pitcher. For Yamamoto, only in his second year in the majors and facing a young lineup, it’s hard to find a matchup with less history between pitcher and hitter. Gleyber Torres is the only Tiger who has ever faced Yamamoto in their career, and he’s 0/4 with a strikeout.
Experience in these situations always favors the pitcher. Yamamoto will be a mystery to these batters and it will take time to adjust. They have film, pitching machines to simulate his throwing, and scouting reports, but nothing matches up to the real deal. When he toes that slab tonight, most of these Tigers hitters will be unprepared for what’s coming. Expect lots of early punchouts if he finds his command early and plenty of head-shaking when these Tigers walk back to the dugout.
