There are people out there who long for the olden days of baseball, where hitters put the ball in play more often and everyone bunted every other at-bat. Not this guy. I like seeing a never-ending conveyor belt of the nastiest pitchers imaginable. I like strikeouts. I like strikeout props.
Here are my top three strikeout bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for tonight’s full MLB slate.
Top Strikeout Props on DraftKings Sportsbook
Shane Smith 5+ Strikeouts (+120)
I wouldn’t really consider Smith a strikeout pitcher, but the rookie RHP is nothing if not consistent. Smith’s career-high in strikeouts is only seven — a feat he’s accomplished twice this season — yet despite that low-bar, the 25-year-old has managed to hit the over on this prop in six of his last seven starts. In fact, if you include Smith’s most recent nine outings, the soon-to-be All-Star has struck out 49 opponents across 46.0 innings of work. That equates out to a very respectable 25.0% strikeout rate. The Cardinals aren’t a lineup that’s incredibly prone to swing and miss, yet they aren’t the Royals or the Blue Jays, either. If Smith can work into the sixth inning, he should clear this plus-money prop with ease.
Zack Littell 5+ Strikeouts (+115)
Littell’s relationship with strikeouts isn’t based in efficiency, it’s fully about volume. Littell simply works deep into games. He’s tossed at six innings or more in six of his last seven starts. That’s how a pitcher with a 14th percentile strikeout rate (16.7%) and 10th percentile whiff rate (18.7%) has been able to rack up at least five strikeouts four times in that same span. At plus-money, I’m willing to bet that Littell does it again on Tuesday. The matchup plays a massive role in this prop’s viability, as well. In June, Baltimore owns MLB’s seventh-highest team strikeout rate at 24.3% — tied with the Colorado Rockies. To be clear: You never want to be tied with the Rockies in anything related to offensive output. It’s bad company.
Robbie Ray 7+ Strikeouts (+105)
Don’t look now, but Ray is pitching like the version of himself that won a Cy Young Award in Toronto. The left-hander is finally back at full-health and it shows. Not only has Ray pitched to a sterling 2.44 ERA across his past 12 starts, but he’s also struck out 86 opponents in that 70-inning span. That’s good for 11.1 strikeouts per nine or an elite 30.4% strikeout rate. It’s a stretch where Ray has racked up at least seven punchouts in a single game on nine different occasions. Not too shabby. Tonight, the veteran southpaw and the Giants will square-off with the Guardians. Cleveland is usually a lineup that ranks towards the bottom of MLB in strikeout rate, but that has not been the case so far in June. At 25.1%, the Guardians have the second-highest strikeout rate in the month.
