From here on out, I will be running my ‘Total Base of the Day’ segment every Friday and will continue selecting my two favorite players on the baseball slate to exceed their respective 1.5 total base marks on that night.
Below, I will highlight two players who I believe have very favorable matchups ahead of Friday night’s slate of games.
MLB Props Friday: Minion's Favorite Total Base Props
Ketel Marte
at Rockies, 8:40 PM ET
For my first ‘TB of the Day’ selection ahead of Friday night’s baseball slate, I will be targeting Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte as Arizona continues its road trip to Colorado.
Upon evaluating which ballparks are the most susceptible to runs being scored and overall offensive production, there is no doubt that the Rockies’ Coors Field stands above the rest.
Coors Field is far and away the most run-friendly ballpark in baseball given Colorado’s high altitude, which in turn results in baseballs traveling 5-10% farther thanks to the thin air and substantially reduced air density.
Given the heavy contact and obscene exit velocities that result from hitting baseballs through the thin air density at Coors, I feel backing Diamondbacks superstar Marte to find success at the plate on Friday night is a stellar approach.
Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland will take the mound for the home team and will surely be looking to bounce back from a horrid start to his 2026 campaign.
Across Freeland’s first six starts of the year, Colorado’s lefty has recorded an abysmal 6.00 ERA to go along with a 1.47 WHIP. The Rockies veteran is in his 10th season with the team and is posting career-low numbers in his 30 frames on the bump thus far.
Aside from Freeland’s early troubles on the mound and the ideal offensive conditions that come with playing at Coors Field, Ketel has absolutely dominated the Rockies in the two previous meetings, with ample data to show for it.
Marte has 48 previous at-bats (AB) versus Freeland, with Arizona’s switch-hitter having recorded 17 hits (nine of which were XBH), three homers and seven RBIs. The Diamondbacks star has posted a .688 slugging percentage (SLG) to go along with an exceptional 1.125 OPS.
While Ketel has undoubtedly taken a big step back in 2026 thus far, with Arizona’s 32-year-old just barely batting above .200 over the team’s first 42 games, he has a prime opportunity on Friday night to revert back to his previous elite form over the last few seasons.
Though Freeland has primarily relied on his off-speed arsenal in recent years, which has largely included a knuckle-curve and sweeper, his substantial command issues in 2026 have resulted in the Rockies lefty having to rely far more on his high-velocity four-seam fastball.
While Freeland has shown signs of great stuff for the Rockies in recent years despite his home ballpark’s unfavorable pitching conditions, the Colorado veteran is showing clear signs of regression in 2026.
Ketel boasts a top-tier contact profile with exceptional power on both sides of the plate and has been renowned for his dominance against left-handed pitchers with a tendency to leave four-seam fastballs high in the zone.
I am far from worried about Marte’s slow start to the year and fully expect the Diamondbacks slugger to find his rhythm at the plate sooner rather than later.
Ketel will have an ideal bounce-back opportunity matched up with a lefty who has been susceptible to heavy contact all year long, and I feel great backing the D-backs star to exceed his 1.5 total base mark ahead of Friday night’s National League clash.
Pick: Ketel Marte Over 1.5 Total Bases (-190, FanDuel)
Nick Kurtz
vs Giants, 09:40 PM ET
For my second ‘Total Base of the Day’ selection, I will be targeting Athletics youngster Nick Kurtz as they host the Giants on Friday night at the team’s 2026 ballpark, Sutter Health Park in Sacramento.
Giants right-hander Tyler Mahle will take the mound for the road team on Friday night and will be looking to bounce back from what has been a largely mediocre 2026 campaign for San Francisco’s 31-year-old.
Mahle has recorded a subpar 5.18 ERA in his first year with the Giants after two seasons with the Rangers. In just eight starts thus far, the Giants righty has allowed a whopping 24 earned runs (ER) across nearly 42 frames.
The Giants right-hander will have a tough time navigating an Athletics lineup that boasts an impressive heavy-contact profile, led by second-year first baseman (1B) Kurtz.
He is coming off a magnificent Rookie of the Year campaign after finishing 2025 with 36 homers and 83 RBIs in just 117 games.
Like Mahle, Kurtz has gotten off to a sluggish start to his 2026 season as well, with the Athletics’ 23-year-old entering Friday night’s contest batting .260 with just six homers.
That said, the A’s lefty slugger is finally starting to find his rhythm at the plate, having recorded a .310 batting average with 10 RBIs since the start of May. I expect Kurtz to continue his scorching May form into Friday night with a favorable matchup against the struggling Giants right-hander.
The Athletics’ 23-year-old has a beautiful swing designed to drive fastballs to the opposite field with authority, especially when matched up against righties.
Across his eight outings in 2026, Mahle has thrown his four-seam fastball on nearly 48% of his pitches and has largely struggled when facing left-handed power hitters.
The Giants veteran has relied heavily on his four-seamer, which tends to have a high spin rate with effective vertical movement — the exact type of pitch the Athletics youngster thrives against.
If Mahle leaves any of his high-velocity fastballs up in the zone, I expect Kurtz to make him pay by launching a deep one.
Given the ideal matchup the Athletics’ young lefty has against San Francisco’s veteran, I feel great backing Kurtz to exceed his total base mark ahead of Friday night’s interleague showdown.
Pick: Nick Kurtz Over 0.5 Total Bases (-115, FanDuel)
