MLB Player Props: Target the Cobbler North of the Border

Yesterday’s prop bets split, as Jordan Zimmermann posted another strong outing and struck out six Yankees en route to a win. Meanwhile, Jason Vargas only managed two measly strikeouts in five innings of work against the miserable Marlins …

Unfortunately, I was at the doctor and missed the early slate of props, but there’s still value to be had in the 4 p.m. ET slate.

MLB Player Props, Wednesday April 3

Here’s what we got going today:

• Diamondbacks at Padres: 3:40 p.m. ET
• Orioles at Blue Jays: 4:07 p.m. ET

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 1:45 p.m. ET. View live odds here.

Blue Jays SP Matt Shoemaker

The Pick: Over 5.5 strikeouts (-117)

The Blue Jays have dropped the first two games of their series against the mighty, might Orioles, but will look to The Cobbler to get them the W in game 3. The newly acquired Matt Shoemaker was very impressive in his first start with the Jays, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Tigers with seven strikeouts. But that was the Tigers. We’re talking about the Murderer’s Row Orioles, here.

Just kidding, despite their illustrious record, they suck. And, Chris Davis is playing. There’s a few strikeouts right there.

Some books have juiced up the over on his total of 5.5, with the highest being -150. However, -117 is still out there, which is great value. Considering that it’s still our highest rated bet with the -150 juice, you’re definitely going to want to take this regardless. We’re projecting he sits down 8.5 birds on the day.

Padres SP Joey Lucchesi

The Pick: Over 5.5 strikeouts (-130)

The Padres looked great in their first series of the year vs. the Giants thanks to their young pitching staff. Joey Lucchesi is one of those youngsters. However, the D-backs have beat up on San Diego in the first two games of this series, putting up a combined 18 runs. Lucchesi will be looking to stop that.

The 25-year-old southpaw struck out seven in his first start of the year against the Giants in just 5.1 innings. That wasn’t a fluke, though, as he struck out over 10 batters per nine last year, too.

He actually made six starts against the D-backs last year so he’s quite familiar with them. In his first three, he struck out four, five and three batters, respectively, and posted at least six in each of the final three. This new Diamondbacks lineup will also be without A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt, which should certainly help.

With a projection of 7.6, the implied odds of 6.0 are still off by nearly 30%.