Tonight, there are a couple of key NL divisional games, with the Braves taking on the Phillies and the Dodgers taking on the Diamondbacks.
Ranger Suarez and Corbin Carroll are a couple of players that I'll be looking to back at home.
Additionally, Yandy Diaz is always worth a look against a left-handed pitcher.
Let's dive into Friday's MLB player props.
Alex Hinton's MLB Player Props (Friday, Aug. 30)
- Ranger Suarez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-144, FanDuel)
- Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 Total Bases (-105, BetMGM)
- Corbin Carroll Over 1.5 Total Bases (+135, DraftKings)
MLB player prop bets and MLB prop bets are becoming increasingly popular among bettors. These wagers focus on individual player performances, such as runs, home runs, and strikeouts, adding excitement by allowing bettors to target specific player statistics rather than just game outcomes.
Braves vs. Phillies Player Props: Suarez to Find Strike Zone
The Phillies took game one of their four-game set against the Braves last night thanks to a pair of late home runs by Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos.
Tonight, manager Rob Thomson will hand the ball to Suarez, and that's been a great option for much of this season. The left-hander is 11-5 with a 2.82 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 124 1/3 innings.
After a month on the IL, Suarez returned last Saturday and struck out six batters in five innings in a difficult matchup against the Royals. Suarez has now hit this line in three of his last four starts while averaging 5.7 strikeouts over that stretch.
One of those starts came against the Braves, who rank sixth in strikeouts against left-handed pitching this season.
The Braves have found success against Suarez this season as he allowed eight earned runs in his two starts against them. However, he's had seven strikeouts in five innings in both outings this season. He has three or more strikeouts against Michael Harris II, Travis d'Arnaud, Orlando Arcia, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna.
Suarez may only have five innings again today after only throwing 72 pitches against Kansas City. However, he's roughly averaging a strikeout per inning this season, and that would be enough tonight.
He can also match his career-high in strikeouts with seven tonight, which he has done twice against Atlanta this season.
You can back him for seven strikeouts at +340 on FanDuel tonight.
Pick: Ranger Suarez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-144)
Padres vs. Rays Player Props: Leadoff Man to Shine
Batting leadoff, Diaz often gets four plate appearances and occasionally five. However, he may not need that many to rack up a pair of total bases today.
Against left-handed pitchers, Diaz is a career .309 hitter with a .890 OPS, and he's been even better this season, hitting .336 with a .893 OPS against them.
One left-hander that Diaz sees very well is Martin Perez as he's 10-for-28 (.357) with two doubles, a home run and four runs batted in.
After struggling in Pittsburgh, Perez has shown improvement after being traded to the Padres. However, he's still allowed a .290 average, 23 doubles, 16 home runs and .857 OPS to right-handed hitters this season.
Diaz is entering tonight's game with a hit in six of his last eight games. While Diaz hits a lot of singles, he has three multi-hit games, two doubles and a homer in that stretch.
Any of those options gets us to two total bases tonight.
Pick: Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 Total Bases (-105)
Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks Player Props: Back Carroll
Carroll has gone through a sophomore slump this season, but lately, he's looked more like last year's NL Rookie of the Year. Over his past 30 games, Carroll is hitting .278 with five triples, 11 home runs, 25 runs batted in and a 1.031 OPS.
Three of the home runs came in Arizona's series against the Mets, including a game-winning grand slam in the eighth inning on Wednesday.
Carroll has particularly struggled against left-handed pitchers this season, and he may be in the bottom-third of the Diamondbacks' lineup tonight.
However, Clayton Kershaw is one left-hander that Carroll has found success against. Including the postseason, Carroll is 5-for-8 (.625) with two home runs and a 2.000 OPS.
Carroll is +900 on FanDuel for a home run tonight.
Carroll brings an eight-game hitting streak into tonight's game and has recorded two total bases in four of those games. A few of those games were started by left-handers pitchers, which is likely the reason we're getting such value on Carroll tonight.
He's also cleared this line in five of his last home games, and I like him to extend that trend tonight.
