Here’s some Pick ‘Em plays our team is looking at for today’s MLB slate!

Writer’s Record: 72-55-6 (+7.25 Units)

PrizePicks

Dylan Cease UNDER 7.5 Pitcher Strikeouts

Dylan Cease, much like the White Sox as an organization, has had a season to forget. He is experiencing his lowest K% and highest xERA since 2020. Cease couldn’t even hit this strikeout number in his last outing, which came against the strikeout-prone Rockies. The A’s showed some fight in Thursday’s matchup against the White Sox and have, surprisingly, won three out of their last four games. This is a rematch of a July 1st game for Cease in which he went 5.1 innings and struck out only five batters in Oakland.

Chris Bassitt OVER 5.0 (3.0 Dog Discount) Pitcher Strikeouts

Earlier in the year, the Guardians were one of the teams that were the most difficult to strike out. Things have changed and they no longer have the same disciplined approach throughout the lineup. This is partially due to injuries/trades of some key guys and partially due to the shift in direction towards giving some younger guys more opportunities. Enter Chris Bassitt, who has registered at least five strikeouts in his last seven starts. Bassitt has been much better at home with 6.42 strikeouts per game compared to only 4.71 strikeouts per road start. PrizePicks is running a promotion in which they are offering discounted props in honor of Drake’s upcoming album and Bassitt is one of those discounted offerings at only 3.0 strikeouts.  His only start where he didn’t strike out three batters was on April 2nd in his first start of the season.

Underdog Fantasy

Mitch Keller OVER 5.5 Hits Allowed

For the first time since the All-Star break, Mitch Keller was able to put two decent starts together. Even so, he gave up seven hits in his last start against the Twins. Among qualified starters since the break, Keller has given up the most amount of hits with 55 hits allowed in 38.2 innings. There are a few lefties in this Cubs lineup that can give Keller trouble and his inconsistent performances make this number intriguing as he’s allowed over 5.5 hits in all but one start in the second half.

Shohei Ohtani UNDER 9.0 Fantasy Points

This one hurts, but if it’s going to be on the board, the under is the way to go. With a torn UCL, the future and former MVP will still go out there as a DH and try to help the Angels get to .500. He will be going against his fellow countryman, Kodai Senga, who has been much better at Citi Field than on the road. The total sitting at nine is high enough to give you some wiggle room and the lineup surrounding him doesn’t really offer much. You would think they would be more cautious if Shohei does get on the base path, which would limit his threat to steal a base and there is the possibility that he leaves the game early. This will be his first game since the torn UCL so it’s undetermined how it will impact him, but Phil Nevin will be acutely aware of further damaging the star man.

Thrive Fantasy

Julio Rodriguez OVER 0.5 Total RBIs + RUNs

J-Rod may have slowed down compared to how hot he was, but he was still able to register an RBI or run in the past two games. He is hitting .404 in the month of August and .446 over the past 15 days, which is absurd. He went on a historic tear and who comes into Seattle but the Kansas City Royals, one of the worst teams in the league. Seattle sits one game behind the Rangers for the AL West lead and their current surge is due, in part, to this man who should continue to produce heading into the home stretch of the season.

Justin Turner OVER 1.5 Total HITs + RBIs + RUNs 

This will be an emotional night for multiple parties. Mookie returns to Boston and old friends will be all over the field for both teams. Justin Turner might not be a Dodger anymore, but as ThriveFantasy’s image of JT shows, his tenure in LA is fresh in everyone’s mind. His August production has been pretty decent with an .892 OPS and the extra motivation will be there for Turner against fellow veteran Lance Lynn.