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Best MLB player props: Predictions for Alec Bohm, Bowden Francis

Alec Bohm and Bowden Francis aren't the biggest names on their teams, but these two stats show why they're in great prop bets for Monday, March. 31.
Alec Bohm runs out a single
Alec Bohm runs out a single | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

We took the first couple of days of the MLB season off, but it’s time to get things rolling with a pair of plays for today’s slate. The first targets: Alec Bohm of the Philadelphia Phillies against the Colorado Rockies. For our second play, we’re heading to the mound, where we’ll find Bowden Francis of the Toronto Blue Jays in his first start of the season against the Washington Nationals.

The MLB season was very good to us last year. We put out 139 total plays and won 9.49 units over the course of the season. Early in the season, we’re going to go a bit lighter on the units while we let players get their feet under them. After about a month or so, we will ramp back up to our unit sizes from last year. Here are our best player props for Monday, March 31. 

Best Bets Record to Date

  • 2025 year record: 13-19-2 (-3.02 units)

Find Gage Bridgford's Best Bets betting record here.

MLB Best Bets Today

  • Alec Bohm O0.5 RBIs (+190) - .50 Units Bet365
  • Bowden Francis 6+ Strikeouts (+164) - .50 Units FanDuel

Alec Bohm O0.5 RBIs (+190) Bet365

Our first MLB play of the year is targeting a guy we played a few times last season. We had mixed results, but he’s in a great spot today to start us off on the right foot. Bohm had a solid spring with a .370 batting average and a 1.042 OPS. Through three games, Bohm is batting .267, and he had two hits in each of his first two games. He’s often preferred hitting off of left-handed pitchers, but he’s had success against tonight’s right-hander in the past.

The Rockies are sending veteran German Marquez for the first start of his 10th MLB season. He got knocked around a bit in the spring with 19 hits allowed in only 15.2 innings of work. He also allowed 10 runs to the tune of a 5.74 ERA. In the past, he has gotten knocked around by this Phillies’ lineup.

As a whole, the team has a .357 batting average with 13 of their 35 hits going for extra bases. Bohm is 5-for-8 with a home run against him, and the three guys in front of him are a combined 12-for-32 in their careers against him. This is a great price for Bohm in this spot.

Bowden Francis 6+ Strikeouts (+164) FanDuel

For our second play of the day, we’ve got a RHP who had some electric stuff last season. Bowden had seven starts last year with six or more strikeouts. He had 8.0 strikeouts per nine, and that number was sitting at 9.4 in the spring. The Blue Jays got six innings of work out of Chris Bassitt yesterday, but their bullpen is likely still a little worn down following Saturday when Max Scherzer exited the game after only three innings.

Francis draws the Nationals for his first start of the year. He doesn’t have much experience against this lineup, but he does have a 33.3 percent K rate in the 12 plate appearances he’s had against this group.

Another thing working in Bowden’s favor is the struggles the Nationals have had at the plate so far. Through three games, they’re leading the league in strikeouts per game at 13. That means that they were averaging a strikeout essentially every other at-bat to start the year. That number is likely to come down, but, until it does, this is a lineup to go after.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.