MLB Player Props for Wednesday, May 8
The 2024 MLB season is finally here. After another wild offseason and an exciting couple of weeks of Spring Training, we’re ready for some games that matter. This season, VSiN Managing Editor Adam Burke will have you covered when it comes to MLB sides and totals in his daily best bets column. You’ll also get some First Five Inning analysis from Jonathan Von Tobel. On top of that, our analytics guru Steve Makinen will feed you some interesting trends and systems on a daily basis. But I’ll be focusing specifically on MLB player props this season, dishing out at least three per day every Monday to Friday. With that in mind, let’s get into the plays for Wednesday, May 8th.
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New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals – 1:15 pm ET
Jose Quintana got absolutely lit up in his last start, giving up eight earned runs on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. But Quintana will now face a Cardinals team that is just 28th in baseball in wRC+ against lefties, and St. Louis also happens to have the lowest batting average (.187) in baseball against southpaws. So, this is a really good matchup for Quintana, who happened to shut down this Cardinals lineup two starts ago. On April 28th, Quintana pitched 8.0 innings of one-run ball against St. Louis, and the lefty only gave up three hits in that game. I’m not sure that Quintana will replicate that performance exactly, but I do like him to give up less than six hits tonight. So, I’m playing the Under on his 5.5-hit total.
Pick: Quintana Under 5.5 Hits Allowed (-110)
Milwaukee Brewers at Kansas City Royals – 2:20 pm ET
The Brewers are sending Joe Ross to the mound today. Ross is coming of a start in which he gave up just one earned run in 6.0 innings. However, Ross has allowed at least six hits in four consecutive starts. So, even when Ross is pitching rather well for Milwaukee, opponents can do quite a bit of damage against him. With that in mind, I see this game as a good one to target some batter props, and Bobby Witt Jr. is the player I’m backing. This season, Witt is absolutely crushing right-handed pitching, as he’s batting .339 with five triples, nine doubles, three homers and 17 RBIs against them. Ross also happens to have a career-high hard hit percentage this year, as it’s up at 41.6% to start the season. Well, that’s bad news with Witt on the opposing roster, as the young star’s hard hit percentage is a ridiculous 56.0%. That puts him in the 97th percentile in MLB. Ross is also a pitcher that really relies on fastballs and sliders, with very few offspeed pitches involved in his pitch distribution. Well, Witt should love that. That said, this is a collision course that I’m looking forward to, and I’m expecting Witt to really take advantage of it with a big day at the plate.
Pick: Witt Jr. Over 2.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-110)
San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies – 8:40 pm ET
Going to Coors Field is never easy for anyone, but I like Jordan Hicks to strike out at least five batters tonight. The reality is that the electric righty can get lit up in this game and still reach that mark. So, I’m willing to deal with the hitter-friendly environment and back Hicks here. After all, the righty has had at least five strikeouts in four of his seven starts this season, and this is one of the worst lineups he’ll face all year. Colorado is last in the majors in wRC+ against right-handed pitching and the team also has the third-highest strikeout rate in the league against righties. I’m just not willing to overlook that because of where this game is being played.
Pick: Hicks Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-104 – 1.5 units)
Tuesday’s Plays
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