Last week was a light one with some interesting matchups, but we’re back with two MLB player props for a jam-packed Monday. For our first play, we’re in the Midwest to find Kyle Manzardo of the Cleveland Guardians against the Colorado Rockies. For our second play, we’ll be heading slightly north where we’ll find Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks as they arrive to take on the Detroit Tigers.
Our last time out, we ended up in a tough spot with a pair of losses, and we looked like we were in trouble early with Ryan O’Hearn. In the first inning, the Baltimore Orioles were crushing Tanner Bibee with runners on first and third with no outs, and O’Hearn popped out to shortstop. In his final three plate appearances, he led off the inning twice and went up with no one on base the other time. It just wasn’t his day at the dish. In the Brandon Woodruff world, his leash went in the other direction for no apparent reason: He had thrown just 52 pitches in six innings while racking up five strikeouts and allowing only two hits. Despite that, he was sat down for the night. I am still trying to figure that one out a week later.
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MLB Best Bets Today
- Kyle Manzardo O0.5RBIs (+110) - 1 Unit DraftKings
- Ketel Marte O1.5 Bases (+115) - 1 Unit Fanatics
Kyle Manzardo O0.5 RBIs (+110) DraftKings
Our first play of the day is taking a look at Manzardo and the Guardians, who have had one of the hottest lineups in baseball as of late. As an individual, Manzardo is batting .421 with six RBI over the last week. The three guys in front of him have an average on-base percentage of .420 over that stretch. Manzardo’s season-long numbers are a bit shaky, but he’s been improving as of late: Over the last 14 days, he’s batting .320 with a .997 OPS and 15 RBI. This season, 12 of his 16 home runs have come against right-handed pitchers, and his batting average is 45 points higher against righties compared to lefties.
Now, Manzardo and the Guardians are starting their series today against the Rockies as Colorado sends Bradley Blalock to the mound. In seven games this season, Blalock is carrying an 8.67 ERA while getting shelled by batters from both sides of the plate. Specifically, lefties are batting .411 with a .643 slugging percentage and a 1.094 OPS. Lefties are carrying a .452 on-base percentage against him, and the top four batters in Cleveland’s lineup are all going to bat left-handed on Monday night. I normally look for longer odds on RBI plays, but I think this is a great spot to target.
Ketel Marte O1.5 Bases (+115) Fanatics
While Manzardo and the Guardians have been on a hot streak recently, Marte has been struggling a bit out of the All-Star Break. Over that stretch, he’s batting just .227 with five hits. Now, though, he’s in a great spot to try and get things rolling again. This season, Marte has been strong on both sides of the plate, but he’s thrived against righties, batting .305 with a 1.022 OPS. Meanwhile, those numbers drop to .247 and .811 against lefties.
The Tigers are sending Troy Melton to the bump for his second start of his career. In his first start, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was hammered by lefties. Despite seeing just nine plate appearances against left-handed batters, he gave up five hits, including a double and a home run. Meanwhile, righties totaled just two hits off of him and were struck out six times compared to just one against a lefty. Melton settled down after his initial struggles in that game, but I think he’s still a pitcher that Marte can get after.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.