Wednesday's action on the diamond will get started early, as will our top MLB player props.
So, with no time to waste, let's dive into our three MLB player props for Wednesday, July 31, featuring bets for Cristopher Sanchez, Freddy Peralta and Chris Sale.
MLB Player Props: Wednesday, July 31
- Cristopher Sanchez Under 17.5 Outs Recorded (+100, bet365)
- Freddy Peralta Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-145, bet365)
- Chris Sale Over 17.5 Outs Recorded (-154, FanDuel)
Sanchez has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. He enters with a 3.05 ERA and a ground ball rate in the 97th percentile.
However, the Phillies' lethal lefty is due for some regression and will be facing a Yankees lineup that's found its stride of late. Sanchez's SIERA of 3.62 and FIP of 3.24 are better indications of how he's actually pitched this season.
He'll be facing a lefty-heavy lineup this afternoon, but the Yankees have held their own against lefties of late, ranking ninth in wRC+ and fourth in OBP against them over the last 15 days.
They should benefit from Sanchez's high contact rate and create traffic for their big bats, as even grounders against Sanchez are due to find some holes.
Pick: Cristopher Sanchez Under 17.5 Outs Recorded (+100)
Next, we head to Milwaukee, where Peralta will take the ball against the free-swinging Atlanta Braves.
It's no secret that the Braves' lineup has fallen off this season, and a big reason why is that their strikeout rates have returned to what we saw from them in 2022.
The Braves come into this matchup with the fifth-highest strikeout rate in the majors against right-handed pitching, and that makes this a plus matchup for Peralta.
Peralta has been one the game's best at generating swings and misses as his whiff rate sits in the 91st percentile and his strikeout rate is in the 89th percentile. He has tremendous upside here, and his total is at a number that he's proven is too low this season.
Peralta has recorded at least seven strikeouts in 57% of his starts this season, and while that means we're paying a bit more than we should, this matchup is too good to pass up.
Pick: Freddy Peralta Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-145)
We're staying in the same game but switching sides to Chris Sale.
Sale has cemented himself in the NL Cy Young Award race at 35 years old, turning back the clock since arriving in Atlanta.
Sale's stuff has been as good as it's ever been, and a big key to his success has been his command. His walk rate is down 1.3% from last year.
His ability to dominate while not pitching deep into counts has made him a workhorse at the top of the Braves' rotation. He's thrown at least six innings in 12 of his 19 starts this year.
While the Brewers have hit lefties well this year, Sale is clearly on another level, and we should see another stellar outing this afternoon.
