April 8th MLB Player Props – Best Position and Pitcher Props to Bet for Thursday
By Chris Amberley in MLB Baseball
Updated: April 9, 2021 at 8:12 am EDTPublished:
- The MLB season rolls on Thursday with 9 games
- Player props are available for many of the league’s biggest stars
- See below to find out where we think the betting value lies
Simply put, Thursday is a fantastic day to be a sports fan. Not only is there NHL and NBA action in the evening, the Masters during the day, but also MLB games to sweat in the afternoon. Thursday’s nine-game slate gets underway at 1:10 pm ET, with seven of the contests taking place before 4:30 pm ET.
Player props have been released for a handful of the games already, so check out the odds and a few best bets to target below.
MLB Player Props – Thursday, April 8th
| Cubs vs Pirates | To Record a Hit | To Hit a Home Run | 2+ Hits at FanDuel | Pitcher Strikeouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Javier Baez (CHC) | -340 | +440 | +150 | N/A |
| Joc Pederson (CHC) | -340 | +400 | +190 | N/A |
| Ian Happ (CHC) | -290 | +470 | +230 | N/A |
| Wilson Contreras (CHC) | -280 | +450 | +190 | N/A |
| Anthony Rizzo (CHC) | -270 | +440 | +200 | N/A |
| Kris Bryant (CHC) | -250 | +430 | +210 | N/A |
| David Bote (CHC) | -200 | +550 | +260 | N/A |
| Jake Marisnick (CHC) | -185 | +500 | +290 | N/A |
| Jake Arrieta (CHC) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4.5 (+105o/-134u) |
| Colin Moran (PIT) | -260 | +650 | +250 | N/A |
| Phillip Evans (PIT) | -290 | +1000 | +410 | N/A |
| Kevin Newman (PIT) | -330 | +850 | +165 | N/A |
| Gregory Polanco (PIT) | -190 | +500 | +320 | N/A |
| Bryan Reynolds (PIT) | -290 | +750 | +220 | N/A |
| Jacob Stallings (PIT) | -195 | +1000 | +320 | N/A |
| Dustin Fowler (PIT) | -165 | +1000 | +400 | N/A |
| Adam Frazier (PIT) | -380 | +800 | +155 | N/A |
| Tyler Anderson (PIT) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 5.5 (-113o/-113u) |
| Red Sox vs Orioles | To Score a Run | To Hit a Home Run | 2+ Hits | Pitcher Strikeouts |
| Xander Bogaerts (BOS) | -115 | +500 | N/A | N/A |
| Franchy Cordero (BOS) | -120 | +340 | N/A | N/A |
| Rafael Devers (BOS) | -160 | +225 | N/A | N/A |
| Marwin Gonzalez (BOS) | +100 | +375 | N/A | N/A |
| Enrique Hernandez (BOS) | -140 | +340 | N/A | N/A |
| J.D. Martinez (BOS) | -130 | +375 | N/A | N/A |
| Hunter Renfroe (BOS) | +110 | +375 | N/A | N/A |
| Christian Vazquez (BOS) | +100 | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Alex Verdugo (BOS) | -150 | +400 | N/A | N/A |
| Maikel Franco (BAL) | +160 | +575 | N/A | N/A |
| Freddy Galvis (BAL) | +160 | +650 | N/A | N/A |
| Ryan Mountcastle (BAL) | +155 | +550 | N/A | N/A |
| Cedric Mullins (BAL) | +110 | +725 | N/A | N/A |
| Anthony Santander (BAL) | +130 | +450 | N/A | N/A |
| Pedro Severino (BAL) | +170 | +725 | N/A | N/A |
| Ramon Urias (BAL) | +170 | +750 | N/A | N/A |
| Pat Valaika (BAL) | +185 | +650 | N/A | N/A |
| Trey Mancini (BAL) | +125 | +575 | N/A | N/A |
| Royals vs White Sox | To Score a Run | To Hit a Home Run | 2+ Hits | Pitcher Strikeouts |
| Andrew Benintendi (KC) | +130 | +500 | N/A | N/A |
| Hunter Dozier (KC) | +150 | +450 | N/A | N/A |
| Kyle Isabel (KC) | +160 | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Nicky Lopez (KC) | +225 | +850 | N/A | N/A |
| Whit Merrifield (KC) | +120 | +575 | N/A | N/A |
| Salvador Perez (KC) | +110 | +285 | N/A | N/A |
| Carlos Santana (KC) | +125 | +425 | N/A | N/A |
| Jorge Soler (KC) | +110 | +325 | N/A | N/A |
| Michael Taylor (KC) | +150 | +400 | N/A | N/A |
| Brad Keller (KC) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3.5 (-160o/+120u) |
| Jose Abreu (CHW) | -125 | +275 | N/A | N/A |
| Adam Eaton (CHW) | -120 | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Leury Garcia (CHW) | +155 | +850 | N/A | N/A |
| Nick Madrigal (CHW) | -120 | +675 | N/A | N/A |
| Yasmani Grandal (CHW) | +120 | +400 | N/A | N/A |
| Yoan Moncada (CHW) | +100 | +425 | N/A | N/A |
| Luis Robert (CHW) | +110 | +340 | N/A | N/A |
| Lance Lynn (CHW) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5 (+120o/-160u) |
| Brewers vs Cardinals | To Score a Run | To Hit a Home Run | 2+ Hits | Pitcher Strikeouts |
| Jackie Bradley (MIL) | +120 | +525 | N/A | N/A |
| Lorenzo Cain (MIL) | +150 | +750 | N/A | N/A |
| Keston Hiura (MIL) | +110 | +375 | N/A | N/A |
| Omar Narvaez (MIL) | +195 | +700 | N/A | N/A |
| Travis Shaw (MIL) | +100 | +350 | N/A | N/A |
| Luis Urias (MIL) | +230 | +800 | N/A | N/A |
| Kolten Wong (MIL) | +100 | +775 | N/A | N/A |
| Christian Yelich (MIL) | -115 | +375 | N/A | N/A |
| Corbin Burns (MIL) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5 (-140o/+100u) |
| Nolan Arenado (STL) | +170 | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Dylan Carlson (STL) | +225 | +700 | N/A | N/A |
| Paul DeJong (STL) | +165 | +600 | N/A | N/A |
| Tommy Edman (STL) | +120 | +775 | N/A | N/A |
| Paul Goldschmidt (STL) | +130 | +550 | N/A | N/A |
| Yadier Molina (STL) | +230 | +725 | N/A | N/A |
| Tyler O’Neill (STL) | +175 | +525 | N/A | N/A |
| Adam Wainwright (STL) | N/A | N/A | N/A | 5.5 (-110o/-130u) |
| Blue Jays vs Angels | To Score a Run | To Hit a Home Run | 2+ Hits | Pitcher Strikeouts |
| David Fletcher (LAA) | -115 | +1000 | N/A | N/A |
| Dexter Fowler (LAA) | +160 | +675 | N/A | N/A |
| Jose Iglesias (LAA) | +140 | +775 | N/A | N/A |
| Shohei Ohtani (LAA) | -140 | +450 | N/A | N/A |
| Anthony Rendon (LAA) | -120 | +425 | N/A | N/A |
| Max Stassi (LAA) | +170 | +650 | N/A | N/A |
| Mike Trout (LAA) | -175 | +265 | N/A | N/A |
| Justin Upton (LAA) | +100 | +350 | N/A | N/A |
| Bo Bichette (TOR) | -110 | +525 | N/A | N/A |
| Cavan Biggio (TOR) | -120 | +450 | N/A | N/A |
| Randal Grichuk (TOR) | +125 | +450 | N/A | N/A |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr (TOR) | +120 | +550 | N/A | N/A |
| Lourdes Gurriel (TOR) | +110 | +425 | N/A | N/A |
| Teoscar Hernandez (TOR) | +100 | +330 | N/A | N/A |
| Danny Jansen (TOR) | +160 | +650 | N/A | N/A |
| Marcus Semien (TOR) | -125 | +450 | N/A | N/A |
All odds as of April 8th.
Prop #1: Jake Arrieta Under 4.5 Strikeouts
The first player prop to attack is the under on Jake Arrieta’s strikeouts. The 35-year-old made a triumphant return to the Chicago Cubs in his season debut, tossing 6 innings against Pittsburgh, while striking out 5. Asking the 12-year veteran to produce at least five more K’s however, may be too tall of a task.
Jake Arrieta gets a standing ovation from @Cubs fans in his return to Wrigley 👏
(via @WatchMarquee)pic.twitter.com/uonhYjnqkB
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 3, 2021
Arrieta has never been a huge strikeout pitcher, but his K/9 has deceased in each of his past five seasons. It’s been under 9 in every year since 2015, and under 8 in each of his past five campaigns. Last year, it was just 6.5 while pitching for Philadelphia, in large part due to a decrease in velocity. The former Cy Young Award winner barely cracked 92 mph in his season debut, and allowed a hard hit rate of 44.4%. To make matters worse he generated a swinging strike rate of just 6%, and strikeouts will be hard to pile up if those numbers continue.
Pick: Jake Arrieta Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-134)
Prop #2: Xander Bogaerts To Score a Run
Xander Bogaerts got off to a slow start to the season, but has picked it up over the past few days. He’s reached base eight times over his past three games, scoring four runs during that stretch.
https://twitter.com/jgroc/status/1379237013736542211
He went 3-for-3 on Wednesday versus Tampa, scoring twice and driving in a run. Bogaerts is just two seasons removed from scoring 110 runs, and getting him at -115 to cross the plate on Thursday feels like a steal. He’s traditionally fared quite well against Baltimore, scoring 75 times in 117 games, and is a lifetime .500 hitter against Orioles starter Matt Harvey.
Pick: Xander Bogaerts To Score a Run (-115)
Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
