On this Monday, a pair of hitters I like to stay hot tonight are Nathan Church and Ernie Clement. In the final game of the night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the ball against the Marlins, in a start that may not feature a ton of strikeouts for him.
Let's dive into my MLB player prop picks for the MLB games on Monday, April 27.
MLB Player Props Today
- Nathan Church Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (+120, DraftKings)
- Ernie Clement Over 1.5 Total Bases (+121, DraftKings)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto Under 6.5 Strikeouts (-140, BetMGM)
Cardinals vs Pirates Player Props
The Cardinals were swept at home by the Mariners over the weekend, but don't blame Church. The 25-year-old homered in each of the last two games of the series.
Four of his five home runs on the year have come during his five-game hitting streak. He is +1200 on FanDuel for another home run tonight.
In his first taste of the big leagues, Church hit just .179 in 56 at-bats last season. Thanks to a hit in eight of his last nine games, he is now slashing .269/.311/.507 to begin this season.
Tonight, Mason Montgomery will open for rookie Wilber Dotel. If it is Montgomery, that would be a left-on-left matchup for his first at-bat, but given Church's placement in the Cardinals' lineup of late, Montgomery may already be out of the game.
All six of his extra-base hits have come against right-handed pitching in addition to 10 RBI and nine runs scored.
He has recorded two hits, runs, and runs batted in three times in his last five games. At +120, I'll be backing him again.
Pick: Nathan Church Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In
Red Sox vs Blue Jays Player Props
Clement still has yet to hit his first home run this season, but that has not stopped him from clearing his total bases line this season. He has recorded two total bases in 15 of 27 (55.6%) games this season.
However, he has been even better of late as he has cleared this line in eight of his last nine games while averaging 2.5 total bases per game.
Last season, he had 35 doubles, and he already has 13 this season. Eight of them have come in his last nine games, and he is +346 on DraftKings for a double tonight. He does not have a double off Ranger Suarez, but he is 2-for-3 with two singles against him.
Suarez has given up five extra-base hits to right-handed hitters along with a .243 batting average. Clement is hitting .320 against left-handed pitchers and .322 against right-handed pitchers. Whether it is against Suarez or a Boston reliever, I like his chances for two total bases.
Pick: Ernie Clement Over 1.5 Total Bases
Marlins vs Dodgers Player Props
Fresh off winning World Series MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is off to another strong start this season. He is 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA. However, his strikeouts are down a bit. Last season, he had 201 strikeouts in 173 and 2/3 innings, but he has just 28 in 32 and 2/3 innings thus far this season.
Yamamoto's strikeout rate (22.8%) is slightly above league average. He has recorded six strikeouts in four of his first five starts, but he has failed to reach seven strikeouts in three of them. In the two starts that he got to seven strikeouts, he needed the seventh inning to do it.
Yamamoto is favored not to reach the seventh inning tonight as his 18.5 outs are -140 to the under. He will face a Marlins lineup that may surprise some.
They rank sixth in batting average as a team and 14th in runs scored. They are also just 25th in strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers.
In his lone career start against the Marlins, Yamamoto had five strikeouts despite working eight innings. Since last year's All-Star break, Yamamoto has recorded six strikeouts or fewer in six of his last nine regular-season starts when he pitches six innings or fewer.
I'll back that trend to continue tonight, given this matchup.
Pick: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Under 6.5 Strikeouts
MLB Player Props for Monday, April 27
- Nathan Church Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (+120, DraftKings)
- Ernie Clement Over 1.5 Total Bases (+121, DraftKings)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto Under 6.5 Strikeouts (-140, BetMGM)
