MLB Player Props for Friday, 8/8: Best Bets & Predictions Today
What kind of performances can we expect on Friday from Chase Burns, Zac Gallen, and Luis Castillo? Follow along as our MLB betting analyst, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite MLB prop bets for Friday, August 8th. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more MLB plays, by subscribing to the RotoGrinders Props & Pick’em package.
Happy Friday! All 30 MLB teams are scheduled to be in action to begin the weekend, and there aren’t any major weather concerns around the league, so we should see a fun night of baseball. There are plenty of aces on tap as well, including young phenom Chase Burns and established veterans Hunter Brown, Tarik Skubal, and Cristopher Sanchez. We even have a matchup between two future Hall-of-Famers, with Max Scherzer and the Blue Jays visiting Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers!
As always, be sure to monitor our MLB starting lineups page throughout the day, as unexpected changes in the batting order can result in value opportunities in the betting and DFS markets.
Another reminder – it’s not a bad beat, or unlucky, if you bet a player to hit a home run and his fly ball dies on the warning track because it’s 40 degrees with the wind blowing in! Before locking in any bets, use our MLB weather page, curated by Chief Meteorologist, Kevin Roth. There are countless edges to be found if we make the right reads on possible rain delays and great hitting weather, just to name a few. Taking a look at the weather report can save us from a bad bet that otherwise looks good on the surface.
Below, you can find my 3 picks for Friday, August 8th!
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Best MLB Player Props for Friday, August 8
Here are my top player prop bets for today, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 PM ET on Friday, August 8th:
- Chase Burns Over/Under 15.5 Outs Recorded
- Zac Gallen Over/Under 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed
- Luis Castillo Over/Under 17.5 Outs Recorded
Chase Burns OVER 15.5 Outs Recorded (-115, DraftKings)
DRAFTKINGSBurns threw only 18 pitches in 1 inning of work last Saturday before his start in Bristol was cut short due to weather. However, prior to that, he had worked into the 6th inning in 3 consecutive starts, throwing 95 pitches, 98 pitches, and 91 pitches.
Pittsburgh is a patient offense that has the ability to work some deep counts, but Burns is averaging an efficient 3.78 pitches per batter faced during the last 30 days and has proven to earn the trust of his manager, Tito Francona, to work deep into games. Considering how heavily used Cincinnati’s arm barn has been in recent weeks, Francona should absolutely be looking to get Burnes into the 6th inning, at least, this evening.
Zac Gallen UNDER 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed (-140, Caesars)
CAESARSGallen has put together a disastrous 2025 campaign heading into free agency this winter, but the good news for him is that he still has nearly 2 months to put together a decent body of work to earn a decent contract this offseason. In his first start in August, Gallen worked 6 innings against the Athletics, holding them to 2 runs. He didn’t allow a single barrel in that outing.
Tonight, Gallen gets to face a Rockies offense that hasn’t played a game outside of Coors Field altitude since July 30th. There could be an adjustment period for the Rockies, on top of the fact that they aren’t a great offense anyway. The Rockies also have a very righty-heavy lineup most nights, which plays favorably to Gallen’s splits. All of those factors, plus having some post-trade deadline clarity, could contribute to Gallen having a good outing.
Luis Castillo OVER 17.5 Outs Recorded (-170, DraftKings)
DRAFTKINGSCastillo hasn’t been particularly efficient of late, averaging 3.95 pitches per batter faced during the last month, but the Mariners are likely to ask him for some length in this spot. Ahead of first pitch, the Mariners have used Andres Munoz, Eduard Bazardo, and Gabe Speier each 2 days in a row. Matt Brash, Caleb Ferguson, Carlos Vargas, and Jackson Kowar each appeared yesterday as well.
Tomorrow, the Mariners will start Logan Evans, who hasn’t worked into the 6th inning in over a month. Even if Castillo allows a few runs, he’s likely to have a long leash, with the hope that he can save a few arms in the bullpen going into Saturday and Sunday.
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