Guardians vs Tigers ALDS Game 3 Prop Bets: Tigers Make a Meal Out of Cobb

Alex Cobb made just three starts this year so the jury is still out on how effective he can be. However, our MLB expert Tony Satori believes a pair of Tigers hitters are primed to jump on Cobb early and rack up their total bases.

Tony Sartori - Betting Analyst at Covers.com
Tony Sartori • Betting Analyst
Oct 8, 2024 • 20:41 ET • 4 min read
Kerry Carpenter Detroit Tigers MLB
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The Detroit Tigers host the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the ALDS at Comerica Park on Wednesday. MLB odds have this game as a pick ‘em, while the total sits at seven.

I’ve compiled my three best MLB player props for Game 3. As always, make sure you keep an eye on the odds and available pricing due to the ever-changing nature of the player prop market.

Here are my free MLB picks in the player prop market for Game 3 between the Tigers and Guardians on Wednesday, October 9.

Guardians vs Tigers ALDS Game 3 props

Picks made on 10-8 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Read full analysis of each pick.

Guardians vs Tigers props

Prop bet #1: Alex Cobb Under 2.5 strikeouts

+126 at FanDuel

The Cleveland Guardians hand the ball to right-hander Alex Cobb on Wednesday, and he should serve as a prime regression candidate. In a limited campaign, Cobb posted a 2.76 ERA through three starts.

However, his underlying metrics suggest that steep regression is looming as the right-hander sports a 4.87 xERA and ranks in the bottom half of the league in xBA, average exit velocity, and hard-hit rate. I want to target this likely regression by fading Cobb in the prop market, considering that he ranks in the bottom quarter of the league in both whiff and strikeout rates.

While 2.5 is a small number, the 37-year-old will be on a short leash in Game 3 with how little he has thrown this season.

Prop bet #2: Riley Greene Over 1.5 total bases

+143 at BetRivers

Another reason why I want to fade Cobb on Wednesday is that I don’t trust his poor power numbers against some of the sluggers in this Detroit Tigers lineup. I will be backing two Detroit hitters in Game 3, starting with Riley Greene.

Greene is perhaps one of the most underrated power hitters in baseball. This season, he ranked in the 83rd percentile or higher in xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate.

As I highlighted in the previous section, Cobb particularly struggles with average exit velocity and hard-hit rate.

Furthermore, Greene’s numbers improve when facing right-handed pitching as he boasts a .280 BA, .496 SLG, and .873 OPS against that hand.

Prop bet #3: Kerry Carpenter Over 1.5 total bases

+148 at BetRivers

Sticking with the trend of backing power hitters against Cobb, I also want to target Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter in Game 3.

He just homered in Game 2, and he should be able to find similar success against Cobb on Wednesday. This season, Carpenter collected a dominant .570 xSLG, 17.7% barrel rate and 46.4% hard-hit rate.

Those are some of the best power analytics in baseball, and he only further improves when facing right-handed pitching. Through 264 plate appearances against right-handers this season, Carpenter produced a .305 BA, .631 SLG and .994 OPS.

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Tony Sartori - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Tony Sartori has written over 1,000 pieces of sports betting content across multiple different media outlets. He covers the NHL, UFC, PGA, NFL and MLB. Tony started part-time while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he went on to receive a B.A. in Economics and a certificate in Entrepreneurship in 2022. He continues to work full-time in the sports betting landscape.

Due to the variety of sports he covers, Tony is handicapping every day. If he had one piece of betting advice for a new sports bettor, it would be to strictly enforce bankroll management rules for yourself. If you set aside $10,000 for your betting bankroll, then you should generally only be betting between $100 - $500 per play.

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