Best MLB Player Prop Picks for Thursday, June 15, Including Over/Under Strikeouts for Taj Bradley, Cristian Javier

Odds as of June 15 at DraftKings. Claim a DraftKings promo code to bet on Wednesday’s MLB player props. 

MLB Player Prop #1: Corbin Carroll to Record 2+ Bases

Personally, when I look at batter props, I like to look at the last ten games to get an idea of what kind of streak the batter is on. You might have heard this, but baseball is a long season, and players can go on slumps all the time. So, while ten games is obviously a tiny sample size compared to a 162-game season, it is nice to know how a batter has been performing recently.

As mentioned earlier, this is a prop that Carroll has hit in three straight games, and also five of his past six. In his past 10 games, Carroll has increased his batting average from .282 on June 3rd, all the way up to where it currently sits at .313. So, yes, he is on fire.

Admittedly, this sounds scary with Aaron Nola on the mound, but he hasn’t quite been the ace that you would expect so far this year. He has a 4.64 ERA, and is maddening for Phillies fans with his inconsistency. He has made 14 starts so far this year, and has given up 3+ earned runs in eight of those 14 starts.

Pick: Corbin Carroll to Record 2+ Bases (+120)

MLB Player Prop #2: Taj Bradley Over 5.5 Strikeouts

I get that the Athletics have somehow become the darlings of the MLB, surprisingly winning seven straight games, including a couple against the Rays, but Bradley on the mound is about as juicy as it gets when it comes to strikeout props.

Surface-level counting stats favor Bradley, as he has gone over this number in six of his eight starts this year. The Athletics have admittedly been striking out far less recently than they had to begin the year, but they are still second in the MLB in strikeout rate against right-handed pitchers, striking out over 25% of the time.

The thing with Bradley, though, is that he has electric stuff. Digging a little deeper into his advanced numbers bears this out. His strikeout % on the year is at 31.7%, which would rank fifth in the entire MLB if he had thrown enough innings to qualify, but he has only thrown for 38.2 innings.

Pick: Taj Bradley over 5.5 Strikeouts (-122)

MLB Player Prop #3: Cristian Javier Under 5.5 Strikeouts

For the last pick of the slate, we had to go with an under, this time fading Javier to not get 6+ Ks. Here is the thing with the Nationals: they simply don’t strikeout. Despite not being one of the better hitting teams by any means, they are one of the lowest strikeout teams in the entire MLB.

Against right-handed pitchers, the Nationals only have one player with enough plate attempts to qualify who strikes out over 25% of the time, which would be Lane Thomas at 28.9%. To not have a player even at 30% is crazy.

In the last 12 games for the Nationals, only one starting pitcher has gone over their strikeout prop. Even Javier himself is in a slump, having gone under this number in five straight starts.

Cristian Javier – Last Five Starts

Pick: Cristian Javier Under 5.5 Strikeouts (+106)