On Saturday night, Major League Baseball has five games under the lights that start at 7:30 p.m. ET or later. A pair of American League matchups get the action started at 7:35 p.m. ET followed by The Miz visiting Coors Field. Two late games from SoCal round out the slate, where the Padres host the Mets and the Dodgers welcome in the Angels from across Los Angeles. Even with a slightly smaller slate, it’s a great night to explore some of the many options available for starting-pitcher prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook. From Saturday’s slate, I’ve selected my favorite plays from the Guardians’ Tanner Bibee, the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Mets’ Nolan McLean.
- Tanner Bibee Over 9.5 Hits Allowed + Walks Allowed + Earned Runs Allowed (+102): Bibee has totaled 10+ hits, walks and earned runs allowed in three of his last four games. He is 0-3 with a 5.96 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in his five road starts.
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+106): Yamamoto has gone over this strikeout prop line in four of his last five starts with a 30% K% in each of those four outings. LAA leads the MLB with a 24.5% K% this season.
- Nolan McLean Over Griffin Canning in Race to 3 Strikeouts (-105): McLean has 27.9% K% on the season compared to 22.5% K% for Canning. The Padres have the second-highest K% over the last two weeks, which should allow McLean to overcome Canning’s home-team advantage in this race to three K’s.
In almost every MLB contest, starting pitching is key to deciding how the matchup will play out. DraftKings Sportsbook offers plenty of different varieties of SP prop bets, so let’s survey the field and find some fun ones to target this Saturday night.
Top MLB SP Props
Tanner Bibee Over 9.5 Hits Allowed + Walks Allowed + Earned Runs Allowed (+102)
It has been a rough season for Bibee, who is 0-7 in 13 starts this year for the Guardians. He has a 1.30 WHIP and has allowed 35 earned runs on 68 hits and 22 walks this season. His 125 hits + walks + earned runs allowed average out to 9.6 per start, but he has been especially hittable on the road and lately, which is why I like the over on this plus-money prop Saturday night.
In three of his last four games, Bibee has gone over this prop line, and he is 0-3 with a 5.96 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in his five road starts. Bibee’s K% is down this year, while his BB% is up. Even more significantly, his hard-hit rate against jumped from 36.6% to 45.5% and his barrel rate against is up from 8.0% to 10.6%.
The Rangers only had three runs on Friday night to beat the Guardians, but they did get two key pieces back in their lineup with the returns of Corey Seager (back) and Wyatt Langford (forearm) from the IL. I highlighted the Rangers in my top MLB DFS stacks for the night, and think they’re set up well against Bibee in this matchup.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+106)
Yamamoto will be making his 12th start of the season, and the 27-year-old righty has posted a strong 2.86 ERA, 3.59 FIP and 25.6% K%. While his strikeout rate is down from last season, it has been trending up sharply, and he’s in a great strikeout matchup against the Angels.
In his first six starts of the year, he was under this prop line in every outing, racking up 32 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings. He turned things around as the calendar flipped to May, though, and has gone over this prop in four of his last five starts. In 31 2/3 innings since May 1, he has 37 strikeouts, including a season-high 10 punchouts in his last start, which was at home last Sunday against the Phillies.
Yamamoto didn’t pitch against the Angels earlier this season, but he had six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings against the Halos last year in his only matchup against them. He is in much better form coming into this outing, though, especially with his recent strikeout surge.
The Angels have an MLB-high 24.9% K% this season and have 233 strikeouts in 26 games over the last month, for an average of 9.0 strikeouts per game, well above league average. In such a great strikeout spot, Yamamoto is positioned well to continue his strikeout run and produce over this plus-money prop on Saturday night at home.
Nolan McLean Over Griffin Canning in Race to 3 Strikeouts (-105)
McLean has a disadvantage in this race to three strikeouts since he’s on the road and Canning will get to pitch each inning before him, but I like his odds to overcome that obstacle and get to three strikeouts before Canning does.
The 24-year-old righty has a 27.9% K% this season, with at least 25% K% in eight of his last 10. He only had three strikeouts in his last outing against the Marlins, but he should be in a good spot to bounce back against the Padres. San Diego has a 25.5% K% in the last two weeks, the second-highest in the MLB over that span. They’re hitting only .186 as a team during that span with an average of 9.1 strikeouts per game.
The Mets’ lineup will have to avoid striking out three times against Griffin Canning to give McLean a chance to win this race. Canning is 0-4 in his six starts for San Diego, posting 27 K’s in 27 2/3 innings for a 22.5% K%. He only had three strikeouts in five innings in his last start against the Nationals and didn’t even get to three strikeouts against the Brewers a few starts ago. He has given up 3+ earned runs in three straight starts, and the Mets will look to continue his strugles after starting the season late.
Canning could get an early adrenaline boost from facing his former team, but that could work for or against him. McLean has a better matchup and should be able to. continue the Padres’ offensive struggles. McLean to get the win at +153 is a solid option as well, but ultimately, I like the value from this quick-hitter in a sprint to three strikeouts.
If you are looking to be more aggressive on Monday’s starting pitcher prop bets, you can combine the three picks in this prop to a parlay that boosts the odds to a juicy +712. Whether you play them as singles, a parlay or in a round robin format, these props are strong plays for Friday night.
