It should be a great day for plenty of baseball action under the lights this Friday, with 28 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams on the diamond if the weather cooperates. The probable pitchers on the board come from a wide spectrum of success so far this season. Some have struggled badly, others have had mixed results, and there are a few who have found success. It’s a great variety for starting pitcher prop bets, with lots of options on the board from a wide variety of matchups and angles to attack. Let’s take a look at my top three starting pitcher prop bets for this Friday, including plays from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Nathan Eovaldi and Cal Quantrill.
Every day of the season, DraftKings Sportsbook offers multiple ways to get in on the action with player props, Moneylines and picks against the spread from each MLB contest. You can also pick series winners, award winners and team futures as well, so be sure to check out all the options available on the MLB page of DK Sportsbook.
Here is a look at my top starting pitcher prop bets for this Friday night.
Best Starting Pitcher Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Yoshinobu Yamamoto to record a win (+145)
In case you thought I was messing around, let’s start out with a pick from the top matchup of the night. It’s an NL Cy Young showdown as Skenes and Yamamoto go head-to-head in Chavez Ravine, and there are so many ways to jump in on the action. Skenes hasn’t been quite as effective so far this season, but Yamamoto has been outstanding, and he gets a good matchup against the Pirates. Getting him at +145 to record a win feels like a good number, although he’ll need run support and his bullpen to back him up.
In his five starts, Yamamoto has a sterling 0.93 ERA, 2.02 FIP and 0.86 WHIP. He has 38 strikeouts in 29 innings and has gone 3-1 with three quality starts. Those three quality starts have come in each of his last three games when he worked six, six and seven innings against the Phillies, Cubs and Rangers. He held the strong offenses of the Cubs and Rangers scoreless in his last two outings, so he should do just fine against the Pirates.
Pittsburgh is hitting .223 as a team this season and averaging just 3.6 runs per game. They have the fifth-lowest ISO and wOBA in the MLB. They don’t have an extremely high strikeout rate, but they tend to make a lot of weak contact, which should help Yamamoto work deep into the game.
The Dodgers are 10-2 at home this season, while the Pirates are 4-9 on the road. The stage sets up perfectly for another Yamamoto victory.
Race to 3 Strikeouts (Both Pitchers Must Start): Nathan Eovaldi over Justin Verlander (+100)
In another great starting pitching matchup from the West Coast, Eovaldi and Verlander go head-to-head in San Francisco. The race to three strikeouts has been one of my favorite ways to attack starting pitcher prop bets this season, and the quick-hitter always adds some great drama to the start of the game.
In this one, I’m pumped to get Eovaldi at plus-money over Verlander. He’ll have to overcome Verlander’s head start from being the home pitcher, but so far this season, Nasty Nate has a better strikeout rate and is in a better matchup
Eovaldi has a 9.1 K/9 with 31 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings, while Verlander has an 8.4 K/9 with 23 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings. In K%, Eovaldi holds the advantage, 26.3% to 20.9%. Eovaldi also has the advantage of facing the Giants, who have a 23.0% K% on the season compared to the Rangers, who have a 22.5% K%.
Those advantages are only slight, but Verlander didn’t even reach three strikeouts in two of his last four starts. He got most of his strikeouts in one game against the free-swinging Reds, while Eovaldi has been more consistent with three strikeouts in every game and over seven strikeouts in three of his five starts. He had seven strikeouts and beat the Dodgers in his last start, and will look to build on that success in this matchup against Verlander.
Cal Quantrill under 14.5 outs recorded (+105)
I highlighted Quantrill’s recent struggles in my MLB Stacks for today since I think the Mariners are in a great matchup against the veteran righty. I also like him to work less than five innings given how hard he’s been hit lately.
Quantrill recorded just 10 outs in his last start against the Phillies and is averaging just 13 outs per start on the season. While his 8.31 ERA is ugly, it could be even worse since he has a 2.08 WHIP. He has given up a 46.9% hard-hit rate and 10.9% barrel rate, and the Mariners are just coming home after a solid 6-3 road trip.
Miami had Thursday off and got six innings from Sandy Alcantara on Wednesday, so the bullpen should be fresh and ready to take over quickly if Quantrill struggles again. I think he will, so I’m going with the under for his outs recorded in my top starting pitcher prop bets.
