Tarik Skubal and Sonny Gray are a pair of aces getting home starts on Thursday, September 12. Meanwhile, the Rangers hope that Kumar Rocker develops into their ace of the future — the former Vanderbilt star makes his MLB debut tonight against the Mariners.
Let's dive into my MLB player props for Thursday.
MLB Player Props for Thursday — 9/12
- Tarik Skubal To Record A Win (-115, ESPN Bet)
- Sonny Gray Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-138, FanDuel)
- Kumar Rocker Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-130, 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.
Rockies vs Tigers Player Props: Victory for Tarik Skubal?
Entering today's games, the Tigers have just an 11.2% chance of making the playoffs as they are three games back of Minnesota for the final AL Wildcard Spot. However, when Tarik Skubal gets the ball, their chances of getting a win are substantially higher. Skubal has been the best starting pitcher in the American League by a wide margin and he is currently a heavy favorite to win AL Cy Young. Skubal leads the AL in ERA, ERA+, WAR, is tied first in wins and will retake the lead in strikeouts with four today.
Skubal is 16-4 on the year and the Tigers are 19-9 in his starts this season. The Tigers have won 13 of their last 18 games as well. Typically, I am hesitant to back the Tigers' offense, but they have scored seven runs in their last three games and have outscored the Rockies 18-4 through the first two games of this series. His teammates also look forward to him being on the mound as the Tigers scored at least three runs of 21 of his starts and six runs 12 times. When getting at least three runs, Skubal is 14-1 this season
It is worth mentioning that manager A.J. Hinch has talked about reducing Skubal's workload. However, since those comments, Skubal's pitch count has remained in a similar range and he even pitched a career-high eight innings to give the Tigers a pivotal 2-1 win over the Red Sox in his last home start. Skubal has done some of his best work at home this season where he is 9-1 with a 2.18 ERA. Provided he goes his usual six innings or so, he will have a strong opportunity to pick up another victory.
Reds vs Cardinals Player Props: Back Sonny Gray
For the last two years and for his career, Sonny Gray has essentially averaged a strikeout per inning. In his first season in St. Louis, he has made quite the leap in the strikeouts department with 186 in 154 2/3 innings. Gray has a 10.8 K/9 while averaging 1.2 strikeouts per inning. He enters today's outing with six strikeouts in nine of his last 10 starts.
We last backed his Gray's Ks on August 1st in Chicago and he finished with nine on the night. Gray also had nine strikeouts in his last start against the Reds and six against them in June as well. The Reds are fourth in strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers this week. Gray has at least two strikeouts against seven of their hitters as well.
Gray enters this start having allowed just two earned runs in his last 13 innings. He also has a 2.63 ERA at home and 3.24 in day games. If he pitches well today and has another lengthy start, that will improve his chances of hitting this line. If he repeats his last outing against the Reds, you can also back him for eight strikeouts at +285 and nine strikeouts at +560 on FanDuel.
Rangers vs Mariners Player Props: Stage Set for MLB Debut of Kumar Rocker
Kumar Rocker is one of just five players to be selected as a top-10 pick since the inaugural draft 59 years ago. The Rangers made the third overall pick in the 2022 MLB Entry Draft. If you watched him at Vanderbilt, it was easy to see why. In his two full seasons at Vanderbilt, he had 114 strikeouts as a true freshman and tied the NCAA record with 179 strikeouts as a junior.
His debut in the MLB was delayed by Tommy John surgery. However, he has a 1.96 ERA in 10 appearances across three minor league levels this season. He has 55 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings this season, including 18 in 10 innings in two starts at Triple-A Round Rock. I do not expect Rocker to get more than five innings today, but against Seattle, that should be more than enough.
The Mariners lead the MLB in strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers. Five of the last seven starters to work five innings against Seattle had at least five strikeouts, including nine from Kyle Gibson and seven from JT Ginn. Now they're facing a pitcher they are unfamiliar with and one with elite stuff. Rocker's ladder is capped up to eight today. However, if he has a memorable debut, you can back him for seven strikeouts at +330 on DraftKings and for eight strikeouts at +450 on FanDuel.
