If you thought Dylan Cease and the San Diego Padres would be on top of the National League West, raise your hand.
OK, it’s a slim lead, one the Los Angeles Dodgers will likely recapture sooner rather than later. And it’s not much of a surprise, either. San Diego is loaded with talent in the prime of its careers, with Cease headlining a great pitching staff. The 29-year-old righty is looking to build off his fourth-place finish in the Cy Young Award race this past season. Matchups with the city-less Athletics are building blocks for award-winning campaigns.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, San Diego is the road favorite at -135, and the run total is set at eight. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite Dylan Cease prop bets for this contest.
Best Dylan Cease Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Under 6.5 Strikeouts Thrown (-115) and 5+ Hits Allowed (-125)
One thing is near certain: Dylan Cease will punch out his fair share of batters. But this Athletics lineup presents a strange challenge.
They’re around the middle of the pack in terms of offensive numbers, inflated by an early trip to Coors Field. Nobody expects a lineup of recently graduated prospects and Quad-A players to thrive. If there’s one thing this A’s lineup is doing early in the season, it’s putting the ball in play.
The artists formerly known as the Oakland Athletics have the fourth-lowest strikeout rate in the league. They also boast the second-highest ground ball to fly ball ratio. This team is putting out a game plan that would make a Little League coach ecstatic, slapping the ball around and refusing to strike out. It doesn’t translate to lots of major league success, but it’s enough to dampen the strikeout chances for an arm like Cease.
I also think this could see him allow a fair amount of hits. Cease projects to go deep into this contest, and I’m not betting on overwhelming success for these Athletics. There’s a reason why the Padres are road favorites. That doesn’t mean Tyler Soderstrom, the AL leader in hits and total bases, won’t get his. Shea Langeliers, Lawrence Butler and Jacob Wilson are swinging good bats as well. Even if it’s a few singles getting slapped around, maybe the odd double or home run, I think Cease’s pitching line will look a little more cluttered than expected.
