Opening Day is behind us, but there are still a couple of teams that will begin their Major League Baseball campaigns on Friday.
While the slate is a bit thinner, we still have plenty of action and opportunities to cash in on some MLB player props in what should be an entertaining day of baseball this Friday, March 28.
Best MLB player props today
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Kris Bryant Over 1.5 strikeouts (+160 at bet365) -
Shea Langeliers Over 1.5 strikeouts (+140 at bet365) -
Shohei Ohtani 3+ H+R+RBI (+125 at bet365)
MLB props for March 28
Kris Bryant Over 1.5 strikeouts (+160 at bet365)
It was a rough spring for Kris Bryant. The Colorado Rockies slugger managed just a .129 batting average and only two extra-base hits in 38 plate appearances. While he managed to draw seven walks, he also struck out eight times.
This is after a 2024 campaign where he hit just .218 for the entire season, albeit he only played 37 games. But strikeouts were a huge problem, as he whiffed 48 times in only 146 plate appearances.
Over his career, he’s faced off with Tampa Bay Rays starter Ryan Pepiot six times. On four of those occasions, Bryant has walked back to the dugout after a third strike. He’s never managed a single hit off Pepiot, who had a dominant spring as he allowed just five hits in eight innings over three starts while striking out nine hitters.
Pepiot ranked in the 82nd percentile a season ago in whiff rate, and the 74th percentile in K-rate. With the Rockies playing on the road, and Bryant facing a pitcher who will be in his head, I love this price for Pepiot to set him down on strikes multiple times.
Shea Langeliers Over 1.5 strikeouts (+140 at bet365)
This is another play based not just on history, but also on the value of the price. Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers had a solid spring, striking out just once in 43 appearances while hitting .286 with a .548 slugging percentage.
But he immediately regressed to the norm on Opening Day, striking out twice in three at-bats from the clean-up spot. It’s not a surprise though, given he’s flirted with the Mendoza Line in his three seasons in the majors while striking out a combined 288 times in the last two seasons.
And when he’s faced Luis Castillo, it’s been completely boom or bust. The two have squared off a total of 17 times in Langeliers’ career. Eight of those instances have resulted in a strikeout, while five have resulted in a hit with a walk thrown in as well.
While Castillo saw a dip in his K-rate in spring training this season, he’s still got some nasty stuff in his arsenal. Last season, he managed a 35.9% whiff rate on his slider.
Against an extreme pull-hitter like Langeliers, who will be looking to take advantage of favorable wind conditions on Friday, Castillo can and likely will utilize that filthy slider to punish an over-aggressive hitter whom he’s dominated plenty of times.
Shohei Ohtani 3+ H+R+RBI (+125 at bet365)
Shohei Ohtani has wasted little time picking up from where he left off a season ago. While it was “Opening Day” for the majors as a whole, Thursday was his third game of the season. He crushed his second homer of the campaign while going 2-for-4 at the plate.
Ohtani already has five hits and two walks in 14 plate appearances. And in all three contests, he’s registered at least three H+R+RBI, including a total of five yesterday.
And while Ohtani’s experience against Jack Flaherty is limited, I love him in this spot at this price. He’s faced the Detroit Tigers pitcher twice, drawing a walk and registering a single. But he’s also seen Flaherty up close and personal, as the pitcher joined the Dodgers for their playoff push last season via trade.
Flaherty’s had problems with some of the Dodger hitters in the past. Freddie Freeman, in particular, has punished him, with an OPS of .926 over his career. Michael Conforto has gone 4-for-6 with five RBI.
Ohtani is one swing away from notching three H+R+RBI at any given time, and as the leadoff hitter he will get plenty of chances to get on base. The BatX projections are high on Ohtani getting both an RBI and clearing his 1.5 total bases mark, so my MLB picks will go with a correlated play and better odds on an alternate line.
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