Best MLB Bets Today – Free (Friday 5/3)

There is another huge slate of MLB action Friday, and that gives us a lot of opportunity to get on the right side of a bet or two. There is a good mix of pitchers that I want to target for strikeout props and other ones that I want to target with offenses, so let’s get into it.

MLB Best Bets

Dylan Cease Over 16.5 Outs Recorded

(-135, DraftKings Sportsbook)

Other than the first start of the season, Dylan Cease has pitched at least six innings in every other start. That would make it five out of six, and the Arizona offense has not fared well against righty pitching so far this season. Some of that is related to the struggles of Corbin Carroll, who may still be dealing with the shoulder injuries he dealt with in the 2023 season. As it stands, the Diamondbacks are 25th in wRC+, 25th in wOBA, 25th in ISO and 26th in OPS. The K rate is still just 20.1% and with Cease, the walks are always going to be a small concern since he’s at 10.1%. Still, we just need 5.2 innings pitched and with how consistent Cease has been to start with the Padres, he should be able to keep things rolling.

Tanner Houck Over 5.5 Strikeouts

(-125, DraftKings Sportsbook)

Tanner Houck has had a couple of games where the strikeouts simply weren’t there, as he whiffed just four Guardians and two Angels. The flip side of that is he’s hit at least seven strikeouts in his four other starts and you can understand why Houck had those low totals in those two games. He drew both Cleveland and Los Angeles two straight turns, so the second game saw the strikeouts decline. This will be the first time the Twins have seen him and they are sixth in K rate against righties at 24.6%. Minnesota loves to play the platoon game when they can but even if they load up with lefties, Houck has a K rate of 24.4% against them. He’s using the slider and splitter more this season and it’s easy to see why that combo makes him difficult to deal with –