Players’ Weekend continues this Saturday with another busy night of action. Five games are on the board for the afternoon with 10 games under the lights. While there are a few weather spots to monitor, it looks like a mostly clear evening with no “stay-away” spots. The schedule includes a few hitter-friendly parks, but some fun starting pitchers are also lined up to take the mound. Each pitcher has a variety of different starting pitcher prop bets to consider on DraftKings Sportsbook. After breaking down the matchups and current form, my top starting pitcher prop bets for Saturday are from Zack Littell, Zebby Matthews and Jason Alexander.
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, so be sure to check out all the options available on the MLB page of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best Starting Pitcher Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Zack Littell over 2.5 earned runs allowed (-150)
The Brewers are going for their 14th straight win as they take on Zack Littell, who the Reds added at the trade deadline.
Littell is 9-8 on the season with a 3.60 ERA and 4.73 FIP in his 24 starts between the two Rays and Reds. He gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings to the Pirates in his last start and has allowed an average of 2.4 earned runs per start and 2.5 earned runs per start over his last six outings.
Littell has tied for the major league lead in home runs allowed with 27 homers against him this season, which is a good situation for the Brewers, and a good situation to pick him to give up over 2.5 earned runs.
The Brewers have just been too good over the last two weeks to pick Littell to hold them under two earned runs. In their last 12 games, the Brewers have averaged 8.1 runs per game with a .311 team batting average, 22 homers and a .398 wOBA. They have a team 160 wRC+, meaning they are creating runs 60% above league average during that span, so they should be able to get to Littell for at least three in their early evening matchup on Saturday night.
If you want a more aggressive play, Littell to give up 4+ earned runs comes at a juicy +135.
Zebby Matthews over 5.5 strikeouts recorded (-125)
I highlighted Matthews in my top DFS MLB targets of the day, and I love him to go over this strikeout line at home in Minnesota on Saturday night.
The 25-year-old righty has a 30% K% on the season and has racked up 57 strikeouts in 44 innings. While he has given up loud contact at times, he has always been able to get plenty of punchouts as well. In four of his five starts since coming back from the IL, he went over this strikeout line, including a start in Detroit at the beginning of this month.
He gave up three homers and only lasted 5 2/3 innings in a loss to the Yankees in his last start, but he still racked up nine strikeouts to go well over this line. Even if the outing isn’t a perfect one for him, I think he has a great chance to go over this strikeout total.
Despite their strong record overall, the Tigers have been vulnerable to strikeouts over the last month with the third-highest K% in the majors over that span. There’s a chance he dominates and takes strides toward becoming the future ace he can be, but even if he doesn’t, he should be able to go over this total.
Like with Littell, if you want a juicier line, check the alternate market. Matthews to get 7+ strikeouts is available at +165 and to get 8+ strikeouts is +330. If you think he’ll match his total from his last start with nine strikeouts, the odds jump all the way to +650.
Jason Alexander to record over 15.5 outs (+110)
The Astros almost fell victim to a perfect game on Friday night, as Brandon Young of the Orioles dazzled in a 7-0 win. They’ll look to level the series against the O’s on Saturday night and turn to Jason Alexander to carry the load.
The 32-year-old journeyman has bounced around the minors and majors over the past several years, but he has looked solid since joining the rotation for the Astros. He worked at least six innings (18 outs) in three of his last four starts after stretching out to handle a full starter’s workload.
He has been very effective as well and didn’t give up a run in his last two starts against the Marlins and Yankees. While I’m not confident he can keep his scoreless streak going or pile up a ton of strikeouts, I do think he’ll get at least one out in the sixth inning, which is all he needs to go over this prop.
The Orioles are hitting only .202 as a team over the last two weeks, the second-lowest mark in the majors, and they have scored just 3.3 runs per game. I do like Alexander to give up under 2.5 runs at -115, but the odds for him to get over this outs recorded line are even juicier, which is why that’s my pick for Saturday.
