We are off to a great start to the week as we are 5-1 with our MLB player prop bets. Today, I have my eye on a pair of leadoff hitters. Luis Arraez will look to help the Marlins take a second game from the Dodgers and stay in NL wild-card contention.
Staying in Florida, the Rays walked off on the Red Sox on a three-run home run by Brandon Lowe. Yandy Diaz scored one of the winning runs and he will look to stay hot today. However, first let's begin in Arizona where the Diamondbacks will look to win the series against the Rockies. I have my eye on Christian Walker in that matchup.
MLB Player Props For Wednesday, September 6
In the last seven games that Christian Walker has started, he has a hit in six of them. He has recorded two total bases in four of those games. He has three multi-hit games in that span and twice he had four total bases by way of a home run.
Walker has 30 home runs this season, which is 10th in the National League. He may be in line for No. 31 today off Chris Flexen and the Colorado Rockies. Walker has faced Flexen just three times, but he has a home run and a double against him in those at-bats.
Flexen has struggled in most situations this season. He has given up 22 home runs in just 78 1/3 innings — 16 of them have been to right-handed hitters. He has a 8.42 ERA on the road and 7.22 ERA in day games. Additionally, right-handed hitters are hitting .324 with a .993 OPS.
In this matchup, there is a good chance Walker gets at least one hit. If that hit goes for extra bases, Walker will record two total bases as well.
Pick: Christian Walker Over 1.5 Total Bases (+110 at DraftKings)
Luis Arraez flirted with hitting .400 much of the first half. He will likely fall short after hitting just .236 in August, but he is still leading the league with a .355 batting average. He is hitting .400 over the last week — .462 to be exact — as he is 12-for-26 in his past six games.
Arraez has a hit in each of his last eight games and in 12 of his past 13 games. He has four multi-hit games in that span, which is most likely how he will get two total bases today. However, he does have a double and home run in his past six games.
Tonight, Arraez will see a familiar foe in Dodgers starter Lance Lynn. Arraez is 8-for-23 with two doubles and a home run against him. Lynn has not had his best season, but he has been better since joining the Dodgers. However, he is still struggling against left-handed hitters, who are hitting .307 with 15 doubles and 20 home runs against him.
Additionally, many of Arraez and Lynn's battles have come over the last two seasons when they were both in the AL Central, so Arraez has gotten to Lynn when he was in top form.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker has moved Arraez the top of the lineup lately, but typically he has bat leadoff this season and he did last night. Batting in the leadoff spot may give Arraez an opportunity to get five plate appearances and increase his chances of getting two hits and total bases.
Pick: Luis Arraez Over 1.5 Total Bases (+100 at bet365)
Yandy Diaz enters today's game hitting .322, which ranks second in the American League and fifth in MLB. Diaz has a hit in each of his last three games and 17 of his last 20 overall. In that span, he has 10 multi-hit games, which would clear this line with just two hits. Another two-hit game may be in the cards for Diaz as he faces Nick Pivetta.
Diaz is 6-for-19 with three doubles against Pivetta, who has a 4.49 ERA this season. Diaz is hitting .324 against right-handers this season. He also loves his home ballpark as he is hitting .354 at Tropicana Field.
In addition to hits, Diaz has scored a run in each of his last three games, five of his last seven games, and nine of his last 14 games. Diaz is tied for seventh in the AL with 82 runs scored. He will likely bat leadoff for a Rays lineup that has scored six runs in five of their last eight games and should get to Pivetta tonight. Diaz has drawn four walks in the last two games as well, which could still benefit this combo if a teammate drives him in after he is on.
Diaz has exactly one hit and run scored in each of his past three games. Overall, he has hit this line in seven of his last 10 games. I expect that trend to continue tonight.
Pick: Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In (-145 at DraftKings)
