Jake's Past Picks
Josh Naylor offers excellent value at +560 on FanDuel, especially when compared to other books listing him as low as +360. Naylor is hitting .324 this season with all 5 of his home runs coming against right-handed pitching. He'll face Rockies starter Tanner Gordon, who has surrendered 10 home runs in just 40.2 innings and holds an 0-7 record in 9 career starts. We set Naylor's line to hit a HR at +420.
Kyle Stowers is on a tear right now, already recording three multi-homer games this season. All 10 of his home runs have come against right-handed pitchers, against whom he's sporting a .972 OPS. He'll face Rays starter Taj Bradley, who has a career 1.6 HR/9 rate and allows a .792 OPS on the road. Given Stowers' current hot streak and favorable matchup, this could be one of the last opportunities to get a line this high if his power surge continues. Odds like this won't be around much longer. We set his line at +490, so there is strong value on this longshot play at +650.
Pete Alonso hasn't posted a high batting average at Yankee Stadium over his career, but he's shown plenty of power there, hitting 7 home runs in just 16 games. This season, Alonso has been dominant when the opposing starting pitcher is left-handed, boasting a 1.600 OPS with 3 home runs in just 8 games. While he's only 1-for-5 in his career against Carlos Rodón -- that limited sample size may be contributing to the generous +340 odds -- Alonso has been very good against LHPs, and Rodón has a known vulnerability to giving up home runs. Our projected line for Alonso to homer is +280, so there's solid value at +340.
Brent Rooker continues to show his power, already tallying 10 home runs this season after back-to-back 30-HR campaigns. He'll face Dodgers starter Matt Sauer, who has been effective this year, but may be in a tougher spot starting rather than coming out of the bullpen, where his stuff has played up. The weather in Los Angeles is also expected to be hitter-friendly, adding to Rooker's appeal. Rooker has faced Sauer twice in his career and is 1-2 with a HR. With our projected line at +300, the +360 offers solid value.
Gunnar Henderson is on a tear, collecting 9 hits and 3 home runs over his last 4 games. He's had success against today's opposing pitcher, Chris Paddack, going 3-for-4 with a homer in their previous matchups. While Paddack has fared better against lefties this season, Henderson is crushing right-handed pitching with a .337 average and a 1.017 OPS. He's also thriving at home, batting .349 in his home ballpark. With the line set at +360, there's fair value here, and given his current hot streak, Henderson is worth a play.
Trevor Larnach is heating up at the plate, raising his batting average from .225 to .250 over the past five days. He's clearly seeing the ball well, having launched 3 home runs in his last 6 games. Notably, all 7 of his home runs this season have come against right-handed pitchers. He'll face Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano, who has been solid overall, but has shown some vulnerability against left-handed hitters—allowing a .234 average and 5 home runs to them this season. Given Larnach's recent form and favorable matchup, we set his HR line at +500, making the +550 on BetMGM a value play.
Josh Jung is red-hot at the plate, going 6-for-11 with three home runs over his last three games, including two homers in yesterday's contest. He'll face Antonio Senzatela, who has been extremely hittable this season, allowing 66 hits and 8 home runs in just 39 innings pitched. Right-handed hitters are batting .363 with a 1.065 OPS against Senzatela, making this a strong matchup for Jung. Our model sets the line at +520, so +600 is good value, especially given the matchup against Senzatela.
James Wood already cashed a home run prop earlier in this series for us, and we're going back to him today at +525. Wood continues to offer value at this price point, especially against right-handed pitching, where he boasts a .921 OPS this season. He'll face Bryce Elder, who is allowing nearly two home runs per nine innings pitched—making him a prime target. Wood leads the Nationals in home runs, and our model sets the line at +435 for him to hit his 12th of the season.
We're sticking with the over in Game 2 of the doubleheader after yesterday's postponement. The Cardinals have allowed three or fewer runs in seven straight games, but six of those came against weak offenses (Washington and Pittsburgh). The Phillies, who average five runs per game at home, should bounce back offensively. The over is 7-1 in Sonny Gray starts this season, which the model is definitely weighting somewhat heavily. While you might expect scoring to be down in game two of a doubleheader, historically, there's been negligible in scoring between the first and second games of doubleheaders according to a Fangraph's study. Our model projects over nine total runs and gives the over a 62% hit rate.
Seattle has the pitching edge in this matchup with Luis Castillo on the mound. While the Mariners lost his last start, they had won the previous three with him pitching. Castillo has a strong 3.13 ERA at home since last season, compared to a 4.67 ERA on the road. The Yankees are just 3-5 in Will Warren's starts and may be looking ahead to getting back home from the west coast and facing the Mets in the Subway Series. With the Mariners at home and holding the pitching advantage, our model would price them as -115 favorites, making -102 a solid play.
The Brewers are looking to avoid a sweep after being shut out in the first two games of the series. While backing a rookie like Logan Henderson can be risky, he impressed in his MLB debut and has a 5-1 record in the minors this season. The Guardians' SP Gavin Williams has been solid at home this year but really struggled last season when pitching at home (0-8 SU and ATS). This is likely a big reason for the model leaning towards Milwaukee avoiding the sweep. We give Milwaukee a slight edge (51%) to win, and at +104, there is solid value on an upset play here.
Erick Fedde is coming off a complete game shutout in his last start and has only allowed 3 HRs all season, but whenever you can get Schwarber at this price with the way he's been swinging the bat, you have to consider playing it. Schwarber is tied for the MLB lead with 14 home runs and is currently riding a 45-game on-base streak. While Schwarber has historically crushed right-handed pitching, he's actually been more effective against lefties since last season. This may explain the slightly generous odds. Schwarber is also 3-for-7 with a home run in his career against Fedde. Our model sets the line at +330, making +425 a strong value play.
The Royals have been red-hot, winning 17 of their last 21 games, but 10 of those 17 wins during that streak came at home. On the road, they're just 9-11 to start the season. Kris Bubic has been excellent in his last two starts (14 scoreless innings), but he gave up four earned runs in five innings the last time he faced Houston. Framber Valdez, despite a 1-2 home record this season, remains a strong play at home where the Astros went 11-5. We set the line at around -160 for the Astros to win today.
Juan Soto is 3-for-8 in his career against Mitch Keller, though he has yet to take him deep. Despite Soto's stronger numbers against left-handed pitching, seven of his eight home runs this season have come against right-handers. He's heating up in May with a 1.067 OPS after a sluggish April (.704 OPS). While Keller has been stingy with home runs this year, left-handed hitters are batting .318 against him and have accounted for all three of the homers he's allowed. Given these trends, there's value in Soto at +425, especially since we set the line closer to +380.
Jonathan Aranda may not be a household name, but he's been one of the most consistent hitters in baseball this season, ranking fourth in batting average among qualified hitters. He's also had great success against Jose Berrios, going 4-for-8 with two home runs. Berrios has surrendered 93 home runs since 2022—more than any other pitcher in the majors. With Aranda's track record against Berrios and the latter's home run issues, the +500 line offers strong value compared to a our line of +350.