Sunday is another glorious day of Major League Baseball with lots of afternoon action and a nightcap in Chicago between the Bucs and Phillies. Let’s take a look at a few of the later afternoon games and the Sunday Night Baseball showcase and pick out a few starting pitcher prop bets that make sense, including plays from Nick Lodolo, Jack Leiter and Jameson Taillon.
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 Sunday afternoon.
Best Starting Pitcher Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Nick Lodolo over 5.5 strikeouts (+120)
At 3:05 p.m. ET, between the two main DFS fantasy baseball slates, the Reds wrap up their series at Coors Field against the Rockies. You can still get some action in the game, though, by playing Lodolo to get at least six strikeouts as one of my top starting pitcher prop bets.
Lodolo has 18 strikeouts in 29 innings in his five starts this year with six strikeouts against the Mariners and four strikeouts against the Marlins in his two most recent outings. While his rate and average would indicate the under here, he has shown a much higher strikeout upside in the past and the matchup is good enough that I think the over is the play here.
Last year, Lodolo had 122 strikeouts in 115 1/3 innings, and in spring training, he had 16 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings. His lower strikeout games were earlier in the season, but he has picked up his strikeout rate more over his last few outings.
The Rockies should allow him to continue that trend since they have the highest K% in the MLB at 28.7%. They have 277 strikeouts in 26 games, averaging 10.7 strikeouts per game.
With Lodolo’s strikeouts trending up and the Rockies’ high strikeout rate, Lodolo to get six strikeouts is one of my top starting pitcher prop bets for Sunday afternoon.
Jack Leiter to record a Win (+285)
The Rangers and Giants wrap up their series in San Francisco at 4:05 p.m. ET, as Leiter makes his return from the 15-day IL. Leiter was excellent before a blister issue sidelined him, allowing only one run in 10 innings and working five innings in both starts. He won both outings and racked up 10 strikeouts to go with one walk.
He had a strong rehab outing as well, going 4 2/3 innings for the Round Rock Express, allowing one hit and a walk while picking up four strikeouts. He should be stretched out enough to get through at least five innings and should continue to be effective after his brief detour.
He’ll go up against Jordan Hicks in this matchup, who has a 6.59 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in his five starts this season and has dropped three straight games after allowing 17 runs in 16 innings over that span.
Even though the teams have split the first two games in this series and the Giants have a better overall record, the starting pitching matchup strongly favors Leiter. The fact that he’s coming off IL raises the risk, but getting him at such a high number makes him one of my top starting pitcher prop bets for Sunday.
Race to 3 Strikeouts (Both Pitchers Must Start): Jameson Taillon over Aaron Nola (-115)
This race to three strikeouts prop should be a fun quick hitter in the Sunday Night Baseball showcase. Taillon and Nola have even odds, but Taillon is the play in my starting pitcher prop bets, partly due to the huge advantage of being the home pitcher.
Nola has the edge in K/9 but has also struggled with a 6.43 ERA and 4.89 FIP. Taillon hasn’t been great either with a 4.73 ERA and 4.46 FIP, but he has been able to post at least six strikeouts in three of his last four games, including in each of his two home starts.
The two teams both do a good job at suppressing strikeouts, but the Phillies (19th) rank slightly higher than the Cubs (21st) in K% on the season. Since most of the numbers are very, very close, the big advantage that Taillon has is that he gets to pitch each inning first as the home pitcher. That’s enough to make him a good play at this price on Sunday night.
