Thursday is a rest day for the majority of teams in Major League Baseball, but six of the 14 in action are among the top 10 in the standings through three weeks of the 2023 season.
The Red Sox host the Twins in the lone early game on the schedule after splitting the first two at Fenway Park, while the Angels and Yankees will play a rubber match of their own in the Bronx.
There are a pair of intra-division matchups in the National League between the Reds and Pirates in the Central Division and the Padres and Diamondbacks out west. Pittsburgh is one of six teams in the MLB with 12 wins or more, and Arizona is surprisingly the only team in the NL West with a record above .500 as we approach the 20-game mark on the season.
Our baseball props finished 1-2 last week, and we’re ready to bounce back with another Underdog Fantasy card for Thursday’s action.
Xander Bogaerts OVER 0.5 Singles
The first-year Padre is seventh in WAR among non-pitchers to begin the season, slashing .347/.422/.556 and proving extremely difficult to keep off the basepaths for an entire game.
Bogaerts has 18 singles this season and has hit a one-bagger in 14 of 19 games played in 2023. His power has also been on display, with the shortstop tied for the league lead at his position in home runs.
However, his consistent ability to find the gaps with his bat indicates he’ll bag at least one more single in San Diego’s road matchup with Arizona on Thursday. Take Bogaerts’ over in that category.
Trea Turner OVER 0.5 Runs
The Phillies have experienced feast or famine-like offensive performances through 19 games in 2023. They’ve scored three or fewer runs eight times and racked up 7+ runs in four games while the team tries to find its footing after making it to the World Series unexpectedly last season.
Turner has scored 13 runs despite a relatively difficult start to the first season of his $300 million contract in Philadelphia. That amounts to nearly 16% of the team’s scoring output while playing one fewer game than some of his teammates.
The Phillies will face Ryan Feltner, who’s given up 13 runs in 13 ⅓ innings through three starts, and we expect Turner to capitalize on 4-5 plate appearances by crossing the plate at least once. We’ll be on his over against the Rockies.
Kodai Senga OVER 6.0 Strikeouts
Senga has struck out six or more batters in all three starts this season during his rookie year in the big leagues and gets an excellent road matchup on Thursday that we’ll take advantage of.
San Francisco hitters have struck out at a higher rate than any team in 2023, whiffing on 27.9% of their at-bats entering today’s games.
Senga has struck out 1.3 batters per inning and should take advantage of this Giants roster over 5+ innings. He’s managed to go at least 4 ⅔ innings in his first three starts, and we expect he'll repeat that tonight.
