We’re ending the week and starting the month of August with a pair of MLB player props over on the West Coast. For our first play, we’re taking a look at Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers in their matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays. For our second play, we’re taking a look at a guy that got a change of scenery this week with Eugenio Suarez of the Seattle Mariners lining up against the Texas Rangers.
We got a split earlier this week that resulted in a little bit of profit, and it was unfortunately just one day removed from being a sweep. Manzardo went 1-for-4 on the day while driving in none of his team’s six runs, and he followed that up with three hits, including two home runs the next day. However, in the Ketel Marte world, he got the job done for us with a pair of singles.
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- Will Smith O0.5RBIs (+160) - 1 Unit Fanatics
- Eugenio Suarez O1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-105) - 1 Unit DraftKings
Will Smith O0.5 RBIs (+160) Fanatics
We previously targeted Smith way back in April, and he unfortunately let us down. However, he’s in a great spot to redeem himself today. Over the last week, Smith has just two RBIs, but he is batting .353 over that stretch, and, for the season, he’s batting .325, including a sparkling .337 against right-handed pitchers. He’s also carrying a .551 slugging percentage against them, with 23 of his 33 extra-base hits coming from righties.
Now, the Rays are sending right-hander Shane Baz to the bump to start this weekend's series. Baz has been solid for Tampa this season, but he’s still hittable, especially by righties, with a .258 average allowed and 13 of his 19 home runs. Additionally, righties have underperformed against him with an expected batting average of .271 allowed. Baz’s worst pitches to righties have been his slider, changeup and four-seam fastball, and Smith has had success against all three of those this year. This is a good spot for the price.
Eugenio Suarez O1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-105) DraftKings
For our second play, we’re targeting the new face in the familiar place. Suarez spent two seasons with the Mariners, and he’s back to help them with their playoff push. He cleared this line in his first start last night. Suarez is similar to Smith with his best numbers coming against right-handed pitchers. This season, he’s hit 25 of his 36 home runs off of them, and he’s batting .271 while his average drops to .177 against left-handed pitchers.
Now, he gets a matchup with Jack Leiter, who hasn’t exactly been stout against righties this year. In 18 starts, Leiter is carrying a 4.09 ERA, and he’s allowing righties to bat .254 against him while holding lefties to a .185 average. As a team, the Mariners have a batting average of .316 against Leiter, and, in two starts against them this season, Leiter has allowed 15 hits and seven runs over 10.1 innings of work. With Suarez’s power, he can clear this mark with just a single home run, or he could drive in a guy or two that has some speed in front of him.
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