MLB Player Props: Can Yusei Kikuchi Strike Out 6 Athletics?

The action is light tonight, as just seven games are on the baseball slate. That gives us only 14 potential pitchers with strikeout over/unders, though there are usually a few who don't have totals listed due to various reasons.

It took me a minute to find my favorite bet, but I found a K prop that I adore like my cat. We're heading to the West Coast for a little AL West fun.

MLB Player Props: Monday, May 13

Our FantasyLabs MLB Player Props Tool leverages our projections against odds offered at various sportsbooks and grades each prop on a scale of 1 to 10. All odds as of 2:20 p.m. ET. View live odds for individual games here.

Mariners SP Yusei Kikuchi

Preparing to make his 10th start of the season, we have a fairly good idea of what Yusei Kikuchi is … and that's not too shabby. In fact, he's pretty good.

Kikuchi has shown great control and has kept the ball in the park, but he's certainly no power pitcher.

Seattle's starter has posted two consecutive great starts, limiting the Yankees to one run over 7.2 innings and holding the Indians to one run over seven strong in the outing prior. That start against the Indians was also his only start of the season in which he struck out more than five batters … and he struck out 10!

In his nine starts, he's struck out fewer than five batters in six, granted one of those starts he pitched just one inning as part of a plan to limit his innings this season as he gets used to the majors. Nevertheless, his K/9 of just 7.08 is certainly not going to wow anyone in today's age.

He faces an Athletics team that he pitched against in Japan to begin the season. In his MLB debut that day, he went 4.2 innings, allowed one earned run and struck out three.

This same Athletics team ranks 27th in the league in strikeout rate and 29th in the league in strikeout rate against lefties. Luckily for us, Kikuchi is a southpaw.

Lefties have had much difficulty mowing down the A's, as only two of the 12 starters this year have struck out six or more batters. I don't expect Kikuchi to join the exclusive party.

There are a couple options for this tonight, as you could opt for under 4.5 (+120) or under 5 (-112). I personally like the latter, as Kikuchi has reached 5 a couple of times, but as I said, has only eclipsed it that one time against the Indians.

The Pick: Under 5 (-112)