Best Bets on Today’s MLB Player Props Market
The 2023 MLB season is underway and VSiN has you covered with every way you can possibly bet on a baseball game. As always, Adam Burke will have daily best bets to give you some ideas of what to back when it comes to moneylines, run lines and totals. However, I’m tackling player props here, and I’m targeting Nestor Cortes, Cody Bellinger and Kodai Senga on Thursday, April 20th. Keep reading to find out how I’m betting on each of them.
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MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on April 20
Here are our favorite MLB prop bets for Thursday, April 20:
Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees (-155, 8)
Last season, Nestor Cortes pitched 7.0 innings of shutout ball in a home start against this Angels team. The lefty also struck out seven batters in that outing, which happened to be one of his more dominant starts of the season. This year, the Angels are hitting left-handed pitching a lot better, but the sample size is so small. With that in mind, we’d suggest backing Cortes to go out there and do his thing.
Cortes is coming off a game in which he gave up two earned over 7.0 innings in a meeting with the Minnesota Twins. He’s already 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA to start the year, yet it still feels like we haven’t seen the best of him just yet. Well, perhaps we’ll get some of his best stuff here. Cortes was 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA at home last season, and he was also 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA in day games. These are the perfect conditions for the southpaw to show out, so we’re playing the over on his outs recorded. That means we need six innings from Cortes in order to cash in.
Bet: Cortes Over 17.5 Outs Recorded (-130)
Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (-115, 10.5)
In case you haven’t realized, Cody Bellinger appears to be figuring things out in his first season with the Cubs. Bellinger started the 2023 season horribly, but he is now batting .284 with three doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs. And before going 0 for 4 on Wednesday, Bellinger had been on an eight-game hitting streak. He also had at least two total bases in six of those eight games.
Tonight, we’re looking to Bellinger to have at least two total bases in a meeting with his former team. This game has the highest total on the board tonight, so there should be a whole bunch of runs scored. And Bellinger should be able to get himself into the mix, as he’ll get to face righty Michael Grove. Bellinger got a hit off Grove when the two met earlier this season, and we’re now looking for him to come through with an extra base hit — or just multiple singles.
Considering the way Bellinger has hit righties in his career, this is a game in which the 27-year-old should produce.
Bet: Bellinger Over 1.5 Total Bases (+120)
New York Mets (-115, 8.5) at San Francisco Giants
Kodai Senga is coming off his worst start of the year, as he gave up four earned runs in 4.2 innings against the Oakland Athletics. However, the Mets were still able to earn a 17-6 win in that game, and Senga is now 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA this season. The righty has just been rock solid for New York, and now we like him to go into San Francisco and give the Giants some trouble.
Senga’s strikeout total is only 5.5 tonight, which is a bit surprising. The 30-year-old has struck out at least six batters in all three of his starts this year, and he now faces a San Francisco squad that has the highest strikeout rate in the league. With that in mind, we’re keeping it simple and playing Senga to have at least six strikeouts. We also wouldn’t hate an alternate line that gets you plus-money odds for more.
Bet: Senga Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-155)
Did you know that you can parlay these three picks together at +540 odds? Try out our VSiN Parlay Calculator HERE!
