I don’t have peanuts. I don’t have Cracker Jack. However, I will take you out to the ball game and supply some of my best bets for the evening on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Honestly, I think that’s a better deal. Let’s dive into Wednesday’s slate.
Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees
Under 7.5 (+102)
First and foremost, this is a very good pitching matchup. Luis Gil looked amazing in his return from the IL last Friday, throwing six scoreless innings against the Cubs with seven strikeouts. The 26-year-old will surely find himself on a couple American League Rookie of the Year ballots at season’s end, as Gil has managed a 3.24 ERA and a 3.54 xERA across 130.2 innings. Then there’s Cole Ragans, who is also coming off tossing six scoreless innings in his previous outing. Put simply, Ragans has been one of MLB’s top pitchers in 2024, ranking fourth in FIP (2.94), fourth in strikeouts (204) and fifth in fWAR (4.5). Any time he takes the mound, he’s a threat for a special performance.
The other aspect to consider with this under is the fledgeling Royals offense. Kansas City just hasn’t been able to muster anything with the bats since losing Vinnie Pasquantino to a thumb injury. To wit, over the last two weeks, the Royals rank dead-last in the league in wRC+ (60). As for their .256 wOBA in that same span? The only team with a worse mark is the historically bad White Sox. Not exactly the kind of statistical company you want to be keeping.
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Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals
Lance Lynn Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+115)
When Lynn takes the mound on Wednesday, he’ll be making his first start at the MLB level since July 30. That might seem daunting for this prop, yet it’s worth remembering that the veteran RHP has conducted a full rehab process in the minors, culminating in Lynn throwing 80 pitches in his last outing in Triple-A. He’s fully built up. Maybe he won’t be asked to throw 100 pitches against the Reds, but that’s something he’s only done in two of his 21 starts this season, anyway. Let’s instead focus on the thing that Lynn has done 14 times in 2024: Strike out at least five opponents in a game.
Lynn isn’t the same power pitcher that he used to be. In fact, he’s averaging just 8.21 strikeouts per nine so far this season — the first time he’s been below a full strikeout per inning since 2017 in his first go-around with the Cardinals. Still, despite all that, this prop feels low. Especially when you factor in the matchup. The Reds have some free-swingers in their lineup and, across the last two weeks, the team sits ninth in MLB in strikeout rate (24.7%). If Lynn can work into the sixth inning, he should have little issue hitting this over.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
