Tuesday night kicks off the Subway Series with the Yankees visiting Citi Field to battle the Mets. With home run leaders Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso both on the IL, the series is missing a little bit of star power. However, the Mets will give the ball to ace Max Scherzer in hopes he can propel them to a win.
In St. Louis, the Giants took Game 1 of the series with a 4-3 victory last night despite Paul Goldschmidt homering in the loss. Tonight, I have my eye on his buddy, Nolan Arenado, on the other side of the infield.
Meanwhile, Elly De La Cruz has set the league ablaze in all facets of the game since his call-up last Tuesday. Can he continue to wreak havoc on the basepaths tonight?
Let's dive into my top player props for Tuesday's MLB games.
MLB Player Props For Tuesday, June 13
Max Scherzer Over 6.5 Strikeouts (-150)
| Yankees vs. Mets | |
| First Pitch | 7:05 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
Scherzer is one of the great strikeout pitchers of his generation. However, you might not have known it based on his start to the season.
Scherzer failed to strike out seven batters in each of his first seven starts. Now, he did land on six in three of them and had another start in which he was ejected. But over his last three starts, he has started to show signs of vintage Scherzer.
Scherzer has gone over this line in each of his last three starts, striking out at least eight in all three. That includes punching out 10 Braves in just 5.2 innings last Wednesday.
This line may move to 7.5 strikeouts before first pitch as it sits at +104 at FanDuel, which I'm fine with.
Scherzer did give up five runs against the Braves, but he allowed one run in seven innings in his two previous starts, earning wins over the Rockies and Phillies. He may find similar success against the Yankees. During their recent homestand, the Yankees scored three runs or fewer in five of their six games.
Over their last 10 games, seven starting pitchers have gone over their strikeout props against the Yankees, and five of them had at least seven strikeouts. If Scherzer goes at least six innings, he likely punches out at least seven batters.
Pick: Max Scherzer Over 6.5 Strikeouts |
Nolan Arenado Over 1.5 Total Bases (+120)
| Giants at Cardinals | |
| First Pitch | 7:45 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
Just when the Cardinals looked like they were beginning to pull their heads above water, they've lost eight of their past 10 games.
Tonight, they'll face Giants right-hander Alex Cobb, who is 5-2 with a 3.01 ERA. However, Cobb has a 4.10 xERA, 1.35 WHIP and is allowing a 44.2 hard-hit percentage.
He may give up hard contact when Nolan Arenado steps into the batter's box. Arenado is 3-for-6 with a double and a home run in his career against Cobb, and seven of Arenado's 12 hits this month have gone for extra bases. Overall, he's hitting .364 with four home runs, nine runs batted in and a 1.281 OPS in June.
The Cardinals' third baseman finds himself in a good spot against a right-handed pitcher at home. Arenado is hitting .281 with nine of his 13 home runs against right-handed pitchers this season while also hitting .306 with a .873 OPS at home.
These trends have helped Arenado cash this line in seven straight games and eight of his last 10 games. He has also recorded two bases in eight of his last 10 home games.
If Arenado hits this line via home run, you can take him for Dinger Tuesday at FanDuel at +560 odds.
Pick: Nolan Arenado Over 1.5 Total Bases |
Elly De La Cruz Over 0.5 Stolen Bases (+350)
| Reds vs. Royals | |
| First Pitch | 8:10 p.m. ET |
| Best Line | DraftKings |
On Sunday, Elly De La Cruz became just the second Reds player in the last 10 years to record a hit in each of his first six games.
His hitting streak came to an end last night, but he still found his way on base via a fielder's choice. When he did, he stole second base in the sixth inning. It was De La Cruz's third consecutive game with a stolen base, and it was his fourth in his last five games.
De La Cruz has eight hits and has drawn five walks in his first seven career games. He's hitting .296 and owns a .408 on-base percentage.
Getting on base shouldn't be difficult tonight as he and the Reds face Jordan Lyles. The 32-year-old is 0-10 with a 6.84 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Left-handed batters are hitting .250 with a .847 OPS against him.
De La Cruz may hit a home run off him as well; Lyles has already given up 18 home runs, 10 of which have come against left-handed hitters.
However, I'm targeting a De La Cruz stolen base tonight. Royals catcher Salvador Perez has one of the strongest throwing arms in the league, but he has thrown out just 1-of-13 base-stealers this season.
De La Cruz poses a difficult assignment for him today with his speed. We just need him to get on first base to have an opportunity to steal second. And if he doubles, I wouldn't be surprised if he stole third base as well.
Pick: Elly De La Cruz Over 0.5 Stolen Bases |
