We started the weekend with a bang, sweeping the board yesterday. However, there's no stopping now, as I've locked in bets for three more starting pitchers to help us stay hot today.
With that said, let's dive into our trio of MLB player props for Saturday, June 22 — featuring bets for Drew Thorpe, Jameson Taillon, and Randy Vasquez.
MLB Player Props for Saturday, June 22
- Drew Thorpe Over 1.5 Walks (-105, bet365)
- Jameson Taillon Under 4.5 Strikeouts (+108, BetRivers)
- Randy Vasquez Under 15.5 Outs (-127, DraftKings)
Drew Thorpe of the Chicago White Sox will be making his third big league start, and his first two outings have been polarizing. However, the one thing that has flared up in both his starts is his command issues.
Thorpe has walked eight guys in 8.1 innings of work, and he's going to have to show me he can reign it in. Walks were not a big issue for Thorpe in the minors, but he also did not pitch above Double-A, so he's seen quite a jump in the quality of professional hitters.
While the Detroit Tigers are not the best lineup when it comes to drawing walks, you can bet they have the book on him after his last outing and will make him work here.
Fade Thorpe at this excellent price because if he goes over this afternoon, we won't see it again.
They call Chicago the "Windy City," and it's certainly living up to its nickname this afternoon, as Wrigley Field will be a tremendous hitters' environment. Strong winds will be blowing out to center field, and that only boosts a red-hot Mets lineup that Jameson Taillon will have to contend with.
Taillon is far from a strikeout artist, as his CSW ranks in the 27th percentile. As I alluded to above, he'll get no boost from the Mets as they are seeing the ball well and have not struck out much at all this season.
New York is 19th in strikeout rate against righties but has been even better of late as they are 24th over their last 15 games.
All of this points to Taillon staying under his strikeout prop, as that's been his trend. He has gone under in eight of his 11 starts this season, and that hit rate has expanded to 51% over his last 74 starts.
So, at plus-money, this play has to be on your card.
Our last stop will be San Diego, where the Padres are set to give the ball to Randy Vasquez. Vasquez, who has been one of the hardest-hit pitchers in baseball, is due for a significant regression.
He has the highest xERA of all qualified starters at 6.48 and the highest xBA at .331. Those are not the numbers you want to take against the Milwaukee Brewers, who rank 5th in wRC+ against righties on the season.
The Brewers should knock him around and create plenty of traffic on the bases, which will lead to an early exit from Vasquez. After all, he has gone less than five innings in seven of his nine starts this season.
