A prop market that has grown in popularity and offered at FanDuel is the daily strikeout leader. The sportsbook lists odds for every starting pitcher on a given day and you can bet on who will finish with the most strikeouts on the slate.
Keep in mind, much like sports such as golf with leaderboards, dead-heat rules do apply. So if a pitcher you bet on ties with another pitcher, your odds are cut in half.
There are a couple of strikeout artists atop today's odds board, starting with Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale at +400. Right behind him are Freddy Peralta of the Brewers (+430), Hunter Greene of the Reds (+550) and Luis Gil of the Yankees (+750).
My value plays in this market can be found further down the odds board, however, and the focus is on Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Zack Littell (+6000) and Oakland Athletics right-hander Mitch Spencer (+15000).
I gave out Littell's strikeout prop over 4.5 earlier today on Green Dot Daily, and while I view him as more of a high-floor option, the Braves could unlock a rare 9+ strikeout game from him.
He should either give up early contact or get to a two-strike count at a higher rate. The question will be can he fool enough Braves hitters with his fastball/split-finger mix with two strikes?
It's worth a small wager at 60-1 to find out.
As for Spence, ever since he joined the Oakland rotation we've seen his pitch count rise over five starts. He should be able to face 20-24 hitters tonight, and while he doesn't offer a ton of K upside, he probably shouldn't be 150-1.
Over the past year, we've seen a handful of 100-1 or longer shots hit in this market because there is quite a bit of variance when it comes to a single slate of K props. Spence fits the bill of a pitcher who can randomly have his best performance of the season and take this down. He's at least worth a sprinkle.
Below, you can find my projections for the daily strikeout leader today, Friday, June 14th.
