Last weekend, the Tigers swept the White Sox in Chicago. Reese Olson tossed seven shutout innings in last Saturday’s win. Tonight, he may get a few more Ks on his home mound.
The Blue Jays are in a crucial portion of their schedule as they are in the middle of a nine-game stretch against the Rockies, Athletics and Royals. They are currently 4-2 and are back home to face the Royals. George Springer will look to pace the Blue Jays' offense out of the leadoff spot.
The Red Sox’s playoff hopes are a bit more dire as they are five games back of the Blue Jays for the last AL wild-card spot. They also have a difficult series ahead as they welcome the Orioles to Fenway Park for three. The Orioles are starting Kyle Bradish, which could be a good spot for Triston Casas.
Friday MLB Player Props · Sep. 8
Reese Olson produced prodigious strikeout numbers in the minors. In his rookie season, that has largely translated to the big leagues. Entering his last start, Olson was averaging more than a strikeout per inning. Despite shutting out the White Sox last week, Olson had just one strikeout in seven innings.
Olson has 79 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings and I have no problem going back to him here. He has struck out five batters or more in nine of his 14 starts this season. That includes a start against the White Sox when he finished with six.
The White Sox are 22nd in strikeout percentage this season. We faded them on Monday with Cole Ragans and he finished with seven in six innings.
While Olson went seven innings against Chicago last week, he only threw 79 pitches. Five or six innings should be enough here, given his season averages.
At Olson's 23.8% strikeout rate, he will need to face 21 batters to get five strikeouts and faced 22 batters last week. That likely gets Olson into the fifth inning, assuming the White Sox offense does a little better tonight.
Five strikeouts in five innings is a reasonable expectation for Olson.
Pick: Reese Olson Over 4.5 Strikeouts (125 at bet365)
George Springer went 0-for-4 on Wednesday to snap a five-game hitting streak. During the streak, Springer recorded two total bases in four of those five games with two multi-hit games and two doubles.
I am expecting Springer to get back in the hit column as he has a hit in 10 of his past 12 games. However, he did go through an 0-for-35 slump earlier this season.
Since snapping that streak on August 2nd, Springer is slashing .318/.408/.500 with eight doubles, four home runs and 18 runs batted in. In the process, he has brought his average back up to .260 for the season.
The Royals will use Collin Snider as an opener tonight. He does not have a large sample size but he does have a career 6.00 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 45 innings across his first two big-league seasons.
Springer is a notorious first-pitch hitter and it is certainly possible that he leads off the game with a double or home run. However, if he does not, I am projecting that he will have five plate appearances tonight. The Royals are the MLB's worst road team and they also have a 5.21 team ERA.
If the Blue Jays' offense goes off tonight, expect Springer to be in the middle of it. Five plate appearances should give him plenty of opportunities for two hits or one for extra bases.
Pick: George Springer Over 1.5 Total Bases (+115 at DraftKings)
Another hot hitter playing in the AL East is Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas. Since hitting .137 in April, the rookie is hitting .296 with 20 home runs and 54 run batted in. Focusing on the last two weeks, Casas is hitting .409 with four doubles, three home runs, 11 runs batted in and a 1.205 OPS.
Casas will face Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish, who has been solid this season with a 3.03 ERA. However, Bradish's worst start of the season came against this Red Sox lineup when he allowed seven runs back in April.
He also has a .240 opposing batting average against left-handed hitters compared to .212 against right-handed hitters. Casas is 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs batted in against him. He has also done most of his damage against right-handed pitchers with 15 doubles, 20 home runs and 53 runs batted in.
In Casas' last five games, he has seven runs batted in and he has cleared this line in three of them. Over the last few years, the Orioles and Red Sox have played quite a few high scoring games. That means Casas may have a couple of opportunities to drive in a teammate, if he does not drive himself in with a homer.
Casas is riding a 10-game hitting streak as well, but he can also clear this line with a sacrifice fly or RBI groundout.
Pick: Triston Casas Over 0.5 RBI (+170 at bet365)
