Painting Corners: Best MLB Prop Bets Today (Target Kyle Tucker)

Baseball is back!

There’s a near-full slate on the diamond Thursday with 26 MLB teams in action for the first time this spring. 

There are many ways to attack the 13 regular-season contests on tap for Thursday. Here are some prop bets to consider. 

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Painting Corners: Best MLB Prop Bets Today

• Oneil Cruz UNDER 0.5 hits 
• Kyle Tucker OVER 0.5 runs scored
• Josiah Gray OVER 5.5 strikeouts

Oneil Cruz UNDER 0.5 hits 

With the amount of tools in his arsenal, Cruz is one of the most electrifying players in baseball, when healthy. Pirates fans are eager to get Cruz back in the lineup every day after a broken leg cost him nearly the entire 2023 season.

In Spring Training, Cruz was one of Pittsburgh’s bright spots while hitting .261 (14-for-46) with seven homers, 14 RBIs and 13 runs. However, success against left-handed pitchers has been hard to come by so far in Cruz’s young career.

He’s hitting .173 lifetime against southpaws with over a 50% strikeout rate and will face another left-hander on Opening Day in Miami hurler Jesus Luzardo. Luzardo is coming off a career year with the Marlins (32 starts, 3.58 ERA) and lefties are hitting just .215 against him lifetime. 

Go under in this matchup as Cruz’s comeback starts off slow.

Kyle Tucker OVER 0.5 runs scored (-115 FanDuel)

Tucker is a two-time All-Star coming off a career-high 163 hits, 112 RBIs and 97 runs scored last season for the Astros. Tucker actually hits lefties better than right-handed pitchers, going .300 against southpaws last season and .337 against left-handed starters with a .398 on-base percentage. 

Tucker faces Yankees’ starter Nestor Cortes on Thursday, who has a 6.86 ERA lifetime against Houston over seven appearances. Tucker has been red-hot over the last two seasons and continued that in Spring Training, hitting .317. With his ability to hit left-handed pitching, Tucker has a great chance to grab a couple of hits and get on base, allowing the other sluggers in the Houston lineup to knock him in. 

Josiah Gray OVER 5.5 strikeouts (+122 FanDuel)

This is worth the risk for a plus-money payout for Gray to have a nice afternoon against the team that once drafted him in the second round (2018). Over the last two seasons, Gray has developed into a quality starter over 58 appearances on the bump with an 8.7 K/9 rate.

Against Cincinnati in that span, Gray has lasted 11 innings over two starts and combined for 15 strikeouts, hitting this number in both appearances. He punched out a half-dozen Reds over five innings in July of last season. The risk is worth the reward here given Cincinnati’s brutal offseason where the Reds lost starting shortstop Matt McLain and center fielder T.J. Friedl. 

That inserts two backups into Thursday’s starting lineup. It’s not posted yet, but it’s projected to be Stuart Fairchild (27.1 strikeout percentage last season) and Will Benson (31.3% strikeout percentage last season). Plus, you still have regular Reds like Elly De La Cruz with high K-rates (33.7%). Take a shot with Gray. 

Game odds update periodically and are subject to change.