MLB Player Props Today: Valdez, Wheeler, Plus a PrizePicks Prediction (October 16)
_What kind of performances can we expect on Monday from Framber Valdez, Zack Wheeler, and Zac Gallen? Follow along as our MLB betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down three of his favorite MLB prop bets and DFS pick’em predictions for today – Monday, October 16, 2023. Get all of Nick’s picks, including more baseball props, at ScoresandOdds.
Happy Monday! Major League Baseball has a pair of League Championship Series contests on tap to begin the new week, starting with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros this afternoon. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies will play later this evening, with first pitch scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET.
We swept our three recommendations in this article yesterday and are 8-1 across our last nine postseason player prop recommendations! During the regular season, we went 103-63-6 (62.6%) across our last 172 recommendations in this article. We were 120-59 (67.2%) on pitcher prop recommendations.
Below are three prop leans for October 16!
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MLB Player Props Today
- Framber Valdez o14.5 Outs Recorded
- Zack Wheeler o16.5 Outs Recorded
- Zac Gallen Less Than 5.0 Strikeouts
Framber Valdez o14.5 Outs Recorded (-184), FanDuel
During the second-half of the regular season, the Texas Rangers struggled against left-handed pitching, ranking 17th in OPS and 13th in ISO. Their struggles were even more pronounced during September, ranking 26th in OPS and 20th in ISO. The Rangers offense has been elite during the month of October, but today will be the first time that they will face a left-handed starting pitcher. Though Framber Valdez struggled in his most recent outing, he has a strong history in the postseason and is well-positioned for a strong bounce-back outing on Monday in a more favorable matchup. This prop is playable up at over 15.5 outs recorded as well, with Manager Dusty Baker likely trying to avoid diving into his mediocre bullpen prematurely in Game 2.
Zack Wheeler o16.5 Outs Recorded (+105), BetMGM
Zack Wheeler has the most favorable matchup of any pitcher on the board today, which includes extremely pitcher-friendly weather in Philadelphia this evening. Wheeler has been sensational during the playoffs in his career – posting a 2.59 ERA and 0.72 WHIP across 48.2 innings of work. Tonight, he gets to face an Arizona Diamondbacks offense that has not played a game in five days. The Diamondbacks are also an extremely weak-hitting club, having ranked 23rd in OPS and 26th in ISO against right-handed pitching after the All-Star break. Arizona’s primary means of plating runs is aggressive baserunning, but Wheeler controls the run game better than almost any pitcher in baseball, and his battery-mate, J.T. Realmuto, is the proud owner of the league’s best pop time. Wheeler should be able to get through six innings this evening.
MLB DFS Pick’em
Zac Gallen Less Than 5.0 Strikeouts, PrizePicks
Zac Gallen struggled mightily on the road during the regular season, with a 4.15 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, and a pedestrian 22.4% strikeout rate. Gallen has ostensibly pitched well to begin the postseason, but his 3.18 ERA does not reveal that he has allowed an abundance of traffic on the basepaths nor does it illuminate that he is struggling to miss bats. Gallen will benefit from pitcher-friendly weather tonight, but that has more to do with keeping the ball in the yard than it does with generating strikeouts. It is a surprise to see this line as high as it is on Monday.
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MLB Props Results – Wager Type
HITTER PROPS
Dinger Tuesday: 4-11-1
Hitter: 119-110-6
Stolen Base: 1-2
PITCHER PROPS
Hits Allowed: 3-2
Outs Recorded: 35-20
Strikeout: 73-34-3
Walk: 1-0
Earned Runs Allowed: 0-0-1
MISCELLANEOUS PROPS
1st Inning: 0-4