Two pitchers I will be looking to back on this Tuesday night include Ranger Suarez and Bobby Miller. They will look to pitch their teams to victory as road favorites. Boston is also favored at home for their fourth straight victory. Jarren Duran will look to stay hot out of the leadoff spot as his Red Sox face Kevin Gausman and the Blue Jays.
Let's break down our top MLB player props for Tuesday, June 25.
MLB Player Props (Tuesday, June 25)
- Ranger Suarez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-148, FanDuel)
- Jarren Duran Over 2.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In (+115, BetMGM)
- Bobby Miller Over 16.5 Outs Recorded (-125, DraftKings)
When throwing 85 pitches this season, Ranger Suarez has struck out at least five batters in 10 of 11 starts. The lone exception came last time out when he had four strikeouts in six innings against the Padres. San Diego is one of the most difficult teams to strike out, but Suarez gets a much better matchup tonight in Detroit as the Tigers are 15th in Strikeout Rate against left-handers this season.
Suarez will have to deal with a bevy of right-handed hitters, but that should not be an issue given his dominance this season. Against left-handed hitters, Suarez has a 28.5% Strikeout Rate. However, at 26.9%, he has a similar Strikeout Rate against right-handed hitters. He is also holding right-handed hitters to a .192 batting average.
Additionally, the Tigers are 25th in wRC+ against left-handed pitching this season. They have scored two runs or fewer in six of their last seven games. That means Suarez should be able to piece together another quality start.
With six innings, he will have a strong chance of recording five strikeouts and likely more. He has had six strikeouts in 10 of 15 starts this season, including six with eight or more. On FanDuel, you can back Suarez for six strikeouts at +162, seven at +330, and eight at +680.
Last night, Jarren Duran extended his hitting streak to 14 games, but he has taken it up a notch over the last five games.
Duran has recorded two hits in each of his last five games and three hits in each of the last two games. He has hit this line in each of his five games, as well as 10 of the 14 games during the streak. In the process, Duran has boosted his batting average by 30 points.
A matchup with Kevin Gausman is typically not an opportunity to boost one's batting average, but that may be the case for Duran tonight. He is 6-for-13 (.462) with four doubles and a home run (last Wednesday) with a 1.462 OPS lifetime against Gausman.
Also of note is the fact that Duran has never walked against Gausman, who is typically stingy with free passes. If Duran gets four or five plate appearances, it is likely that he will put the ball in play.
Meanwhile, Gausman has not been as dominant this season compared to the last three years. His ERA is 4.24 while his xERA is 5.12. He is also allowing left-handers to slash .292/.337/.516 with 16 doubles and six home runs against him. Gausman allowed five runs (four earned) against Boston last Wednesday, a game that Duran went 2-for-5 in.
Given his success recently and against Gausman, Duran's total bases also are a strong play and likely will hit if this HRR combo hits as well. However, Duran has scored a run in 12 of the 14 games during his hitting streak. If he scores again and has another two-hit game, he will clear this line at plus odds compared to his total bases tonight.
I mentioned the struggling Tigers offense earlier. Over the weekend, they hosted the White Sox, who scored just eight runs themselves in the three games.
On Monday, the White Sox were shut out by the Dodgers in the first game of their series. That has been par for the course this season as the White Sox are last in MLB in batting average and runs scored. They are also last in wRC+ against right-handed pitchers.
That should help Bobby Miller in his second start off the IL. Miller perhaps went longer than expected when he went 6 1/3 innings in Colorado on Wednesday. He only needed 79 pitches, so he may not be allowed to go past 90 pitches tonight. However, I expect that will be enough to get him through 5 2/3 innings.
If that is the case, Miller will once again eat up innings for manager Dave Roberts. Dating back to last season, he has hit this line in 11 of his last 15 starts.
He will have the opportunity to record a quality start against this White Sox lineup, particularly if he can limit his walks. He has averaged 2.3 walks per start this season, but the White Sox are 29th in Walk Rate against right-handers.
