It's Friday night in MLB and tonight's focus is on the NL East with the Braves and Mets battling for NL Wild Card positioning, while the Phillies are trying to clinch the division. Two players that I am targeting tonight are Matt Olson and Cristopher Sanchez.
Meanwhile, the Astros are trying to clinch another division title of their own, but they may need others to step up besides Yordan Alvarez. Let's dive into my MLB player props for Friday, September 20.
MLB Player Props for Friday 9/20
- Matt Olson Over 1.5 Total Bases (-104, Caesars)
- Cristopher Sanchez Under 17.5 Outs Recorded (+155, DraftKings)
- Yordan Alvarez Over 0.5 Walks (+130, DraftKings)
MLB player prop bets and MLB prop bets are becoming increasingly popular among bettors. These wagers focus on individual player performances, such as runs, home runs and strikeouts, adding excitement by allowing bettors to target specific player statistics rather than just game outcomes.
Braves vs Marlins Player Props: Matt Olson On Tear
With two more home runs, Matt Olson will have his fourth consecutive 30 home run season and fifth straight with in a 162-game season. If he repeats yesterday's performance, he may just get there tonight. Olson went 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI, and scored three runs. Now, that was at Great American Ballpark and the Braves will head to Miami tonight. However, the Dodgers just tore up Miami's pitching staff over the last few days with Shohei Ohtani playing one of the greatest games we've ever seen yesterday.
Olson will face Marlins right-hander Valente Bellozo tonight. The rookie right-hander started off strong but he has allowed at least three runs in four of his last five starts. Bellozo ranks in ninth percentile with a 5.08 xERA and eighth percentile with a 10.5% barrel percentage. As a result, he has surrendered 12 home runs in 58 1/3, including five to left-handed hitters.
That bodes well for Olson, who is hitting .317 with a .999 OPS in September with six doubles and three home runs. Olson comes into play with a hit in nine of his last 10 games with five multi-hit games in that stretch. As a result, he has recorded two total bases in eight of his last 10 games and I expect that trend to continue tonight.
Phillies vs Mets Player Props: Sell High on Cristopher Sanchez?
Cristopher Sanchez's breakout season has continued as he has lowered three earned runs in 20 innings in September to lower his ERA to 3.24 in 172 innings for the season. Sanchez comes into this start having pitched six innings in three straight starts, five of his last six starts, and seven starts of his last 10 starts. However, when looking at directly at his road starts, the hit rate drops drastically.
Sanchez has not completed six innings in nine of his 13 road starts this season. He did dominate the Mets in his last start, allowing one run on six hits in seven innings. However, that start came at home when he is 7-3 with a 2.05 ERA. On the road, Sanchez is 3-6 with a 5.13 ERA this season.
Now, the Mets get a look at a Sanchez for a second straight start and their bats are hot right now. They have scored 10 runs in each of their last three games. They might not hang another crooked number on Sanchez, but I expect them to at least make his night stressful. If Sanchez is at 90 pitches or so through five innings, he likely does not work the sixth inning. Considering the Mets' offense right now and Sanchez's road struggles this season, I have to go with the under here at a +155 price.
Angels vs Astros Player Props: Yordan Alvarez Working the Count
Yordan Alvarez comes into tonight's game, hitting .303 with 34 home runs and 85 runs batted in. Tonight, he gets one of his favorite matchups against Tyler Anderson, who he is 7-for-17 (.412) with two doubles, three home runs, and six runs batted in against. Alvarez is one of those hitters with reverse splits as he is hitting .366 with a 1.037 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season.
Anderson may be a glutton for punishment considering he has walked Alvarez just once in their matchups. However, he does walk everyone else fairly often. Anderson has issued 70 walks in 172 1/3 this season. He has walked two batters in 17 of 20 road starts and walked three batters in four of his last six starts overall.
Alvarez drew a walk in the first game of the series last night. He has now drawn a walk in four of his last six games and he is tied for fifth in the AL with 68 walks this season. Even if he is not walked by Anderson, he still may get a free pass tonight. The Angels have issued the second-most walks in the MLB this season.
