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Best MLB Player Props Today: Predictions for Jhonkensy Noel, Adley Rutschman on Friday

Adley Rutschman and Jhonkensy Noel are on teams that have been flying under the radar as of late, but these two stats show why they're in great spots to target on Friday.

By Gage Bridgford

Adley Rutschman hits a single
Adley Rutschman hits a single / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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In an effort to get some green back to end the week, we’re going to a couple of young studs on American League teams. The first is going to be Jhonkensy Noel of the Cleveland Guardians taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Our second play will be looking Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles as they look to build some late-season momentum against the Colorado Rockies in tonight’s contest.

It’s been a rough start to the week here in this column. We’re 0-3-1 thus far with the push coming by way of Parker Meadows not playing on Wednesday. In the Triston Casas department with the Boston Red Sox, they were just getting diced up by Chris Bassitt on Wednesday. He tied his season-high with nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work. Casas struck out twice on the night and was hit by a pitch once. That’s just the way it goes, but we’re not done fighting yet.

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MLB Best Bets Today

  • Jhonkensy Noel O0.5 RBIs (+145) - .75 Units Bet365
  • Adley Rutschman 3+ Total Bases (+170) - .75 Units FanDuel

Jhonkensy Noel O0.5 RBIs (+145) Bet365

Our first play of the day is taking a stab at Noel to drive in a run or two against the Pirates. The rookie right-hander has been crushing the ball as of late, and he’s in a great spot to continue that trend. Over the last week, he’s 14th in baseball with a 1.215 OPS with five RBIs in five games. In his young career, he’s been loving matchups against left-handed pitchers. He’s batting .286 with a sparkling 1.188 OPS against lefties with solid marks of .253 and .811 against righties. 

Tonight, he gets a great lefty matchup with Bailey Falter of the Pirates heading to the mound. Falter has been about even against lefties and righties this year with a .261 average against righties compared to a .258 against lefties. However, the power department has been a different story. Of his 14 home runs allowed, 12 of them have been to righties who have a .743 OPS against him compared to a .661 for lefties. Of the 86 hits allowed to righties, 31 have been for extra bases along with 43 of his 51 runs allowed going to them. Noel can hit one out to drive himself in, or he can find a gap to drive in one of the guys in front of him.

Adley Rutschman 3+ Total Bases (+170) FanDuel

The Orioles have floundered a bit as of late with a 4-6 record over their last 10 games, and they need a spark to get going again. A matchup with the Rockies should do the trick. Over the last week, Adley is batting just .227 with a .619 OPS. However, his numbers on the year show that tonight is a spot to fix that. Against righties, he’s batting just .223 with a .651 OPS, but those numbers jump to .342 and .933 against lefties. On the bump for the Rockies tonight just happens to be one of those lefties.

Colorado is expected to send Austin Gomber and his 4.70 ERA to the mound for tonight’s series opener. On the year, Gomber has been hit quite well by righties. They’re batting .271 with a .799 OPS against him, and they’ve hit 19 of the 26 homers that he has allowed as well. Of his 113 hits allowed to righties, 46 of them have gone for extra bases. Adley isn’t the biggest home run guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he can still leg out some doubles when he gets a ball in the gap. In Colorado with a spectacular matchup, this is a great spot to go back to the Adley well.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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