MLB Player Props Today: Cease, Rosario, Plus a PrizePicks Prediction (April 5)
What kind of performances can we expect on Wednesday from Dylan Cease, Amed Rosario, Shohei Ohtani, and Chris Flexen? Follow along as our MLB betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down his three favorite MLB prop bets and DFS pick’em predictions for April 5 on the diamond.
Happy Wednesday! Yesterday we hit Austin Riley to hit a home run (+340) and nailed our PrizePicks lean for the second consecutive article. Today, we have 13 games on the MLB slate, beginning with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds at 12:35 p.m. EST. Below are three leans for April 5 as we look to build off of our early season results in this article.
MLB Prop Bets Results – Monthly
April: 2-1
March: 2-1
MLB Props Results – Wager Type
1st Inning: 0-0
Dinger Tuesday: 1-1
Outs Recorded: 1-0
Hit/Total Bases: 0-1
Stolen Base: 0-0
Strikeout: 2-0
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MLB Player Props Today
- Dylan Cease o7.5 strikeouts
- Amed Rosario o1.5 total bases
- Shohei Ohtani + Chris Flexen less than 0.5 1st inning runs allowed
Dylan Cease o7.5 strikeouts (-135), BetMGM
During the first week of the season, the San Francisco Giants’ approach at the plate has been abysmal. Entering play on Wednesday, they rank 20th in swing% on pitches outside of the strike zone. On those swings, they rank 28th out of 30 teams in contact%. On pitches inside the strike zone, the Giants have been aggressive, but they rank only 27th in contact% on those swings – resulting in an abysmal 14.4% swinging strike rate, which ranks 29th out of 30 teams. In 2022, Dylan Cease generated swings and misses better than almost any other pitcher in the league, ranking in the 91st percentile in whiff% and the 69th percentile in chase rate. In his first start, he had 10 strikeouts in 6.1 innings against the Houston Astros. Expect another strong performance from him this afternoon.
Amed Rosario o1.5 total bases (+100), BetMGM
Last season, Amed Rosario was much better against left-handed pitching than he was against right-handed pitching. Facing southpaws, he had a .295 batting average, .796 OPS, and a 126 wRC+. Importantly, he walked only 5.0% of the time, meaning that the vast majority of his offensive production in these situations came via contact – notable, considering that walks do not count towards total bases. Rosario will face Kyle Muller today, who had a 5.14 FIP, 1.74 WHIP, and a .295 opponent batting average against right-handed hitters in 2022. At even money, this is a worthwhile risk for bettors.
MLB DFS Pick’em
Shohei Ohtani + Chris Flexen less than 0.5 1st inning runs allowed, PrizePicks
In his first start of the season, Shohei Ohtani fired a clean opening frame, a continuation of 2022 when he had a 2.89 ERA and a 1.25 FIP in the first inning of his starts. Chris Flexen also had a clean opening frame in his first start of 2023. Last year, Flexen had a 2.45 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in the first inning. Both of these pitchers have proven themselves capable of keeping runs off of the board early in games – trust them to do it again on Wednesday afternoon.
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