Underdog Fantasy MLB Picks August 4: Trea Turner and Ryan Mountcastle Among Top Props Today
The weekend is almost here and we have another Friday night of Major League Baseball games to find winning MLB Underdog picks and MLB player props. We nailed all three picks yesterday, so let's run it back with three more MLB betting picks tonight. Our top MLB picks on Underdog Fantasy tonight feature Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, and Boston Red Sox pitcher James Paxton. Check out these free MLB player props and MLB daily picks on Underdog Fantasy for “Pick'Em” contests tonight. Don't forget to check out the latest MLB weather report and the confirmed MLB lineups when placing those MLB betting picks. Plus, the MLB daily projections and MLB Batter vs Pitcher page will help you find the best matchups for MLB player props and MLB DFS lineups. Let's dive into the top MLB player picks on Underdog Fantasy for Friday, August 4th.
MLB Underdog Fantasy Top Picks August 4
Ryan Mountcastle, Baltimore Orioles – OVER 1.5 Total Bases
Since the All-Star break, Ryan Mountcastle has been one of the hottest hitters in the league. The Baltimore Orioles’ first baseman is batting .449 with a 1.205 OPS since the break and 35 total bases across 17 games in this stretch. He’s also hitting .565 over the past seven games after crushing the Blue Jays pitching last series. Mountcastle has gone over 1.5 total bases in five straight games and 10 of 17 since the AS break. Bank on his hot bat to continue tonight with another favorable matchup. New York Mets starter David Peterson is re-entering the rotation with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander dealt away. When he was starting games for the Mets earlier this season, Peterson had a 6.46 ERA and 1.64 WHIP over 11 starts. The left-hander also has an 8.41 ERA and 1.84 WHIP on the road this year. Meanwhile, Mountcastle is hammering left-handed pitching with a .351 BA, .691 SLG, and .340 ISO in the split. As for Peterson, he’s allowing a .295 BA to righty hitters this year. All signs are pointing towards another successful evening at the plate for Mountcastle.
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies – OVER 0.5 Singles
Unless you’re a Philadelphia Phillies fan or roster this guy in fantasy baseball, you might not realize how bad Trea Turner has been this season. It’s safe to say he hasn’t lived up to his new 11-year, $300 million contract as he’s rocking a .235 batting average this year. It’s been especially rough lately for the Phillies shortstop with a .206 BA over the last 30 games and some costly errors in the field. Despite all of that, let’s back Turner to get a single tonight with a good matchup and a bit of motivation. After a game earlier this week, Turner owned his poor play with the media and the fans have since backed him up on social media. You’d think the Philly fans would boo him tonight as the team returns home for its series with the Kansas City Royals. However, there’s been a social media push for him to receive a standing ovation when he comes to the plate. Hopefully, Turner can respond positively to that and get a base-knock out of the way early. He’ll face Royals starter Jordan Lyles, who has an ugly 6.15 ERA this year. On the road, Lyles has a 7.52 ERA and a .291 batting average against. As for Turner, 66% of his hits this season have been singles (70 of 105). He’s -250 to get a hit tonight on DK Sportsbook, and there’s a good chance at that hit being a single. Finally, it's good to see Turner is 5-for-10 with three singles in his career vs Lyles.
James Paxton, Boston Red Sox – UNDER 6.0 Strikeouts
We’ve grabbed the over on James Paxton’s strikeouts at times this season, but tonight’s matchup points to the under. Against left-handed pitching, the Toronto Blue Jays have just a 19.1% strikeout rate (3rd-lowest) and a 10.0% walk rate (2nd-highest) this year. Over the past two weeks, the Jays have even better numbers vs lefties with a 17.8% K rate, 14.8% walk rate, and an impressive .370 wOBA in the split as well. Any left-hander would have his strikeouts limited in this spot – especially a guy like Paxton, who’s been inconsistent with his K totals. The Boston Red Sox starter has gone under six strikeouts in 6 of 13 starts this season, averaging just 4.2 K’s per outing when he does hit the under. He’s also been under this line in three of his last four starts. Yes, he has some higher K numbers this year, but many of those came against strikeout-prone offenses. The Blue Jays will make him work for it tonight – especially with the AL Wild Card implications in play here.
MLB Best Bets
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Player News
Red Sox optioned INF David Hamilton to Triple-A Worcester.
The Red Sox plan on activating Alex Bregman from the injured list on Friday and someone needed to get bumped from the roster to make room for him. Unfortunately, Hamilton drew the short straw this time around. He’ll continue to bide his time at Triple-A until he’s needed once again.
Willson Contreras went 2-for-4 and blasted his 12th home run of the season on Thursday, propelling the Cardinals to an 8-1 victory over the visiting Nationals.
Contreras sparked a five-run uprising with a leadoff single in the sixth inning and ultimately scored on an RBI single off the bat of Nolan Arenado. He then capped off the Cardinals’ scoring with a 406-foot (104.7 mph EV) blast off of Jackson Rutledge in the seventh inning that made it an 8-0 ballgame. On the season, the 33-year-old slugger is now hitting .254/.343/.430 with the aforementioned 12 homers and 52 RBI.
Masyn Winn went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI as the Cardinals walloped the Nationals on Thursday.
The 23-year-old shortstop plated Victor Scott II with a run-scoring double in the sixth inning that extended the Cardinals’ lead to 7-0. He has done a nice job at the dish for the Cardinals this season, slashing .263/.324/.391 with seven homers, 32 RBI and four stolen bases.
Brendan Donovan went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored as the Cardinals triumphed over the Nationals on Thursday evening in St. Louis.
Donovan led off the home half of the first inning with a single and scored the Cardinals’ first run on a bounce out off the bat of Alec Burleson. He also led off the third inning with a single and was once again driven in by Burleson — that time on an RBI single. With his two-hit attack, the versatile 28-year-old is now hitting .296/.367/.435 with eight homers, 35 RBI and three swipes on the season.
Giancarlo Stanton delivered his first career pinch-hit home run, a two-run shot off Matt Brash, as the Yankees came back to beat the Mariners 6-5 in 10 innings on Thursday.
It’s probably the victory of the year for the Yankees, who were being no-hit by Bryan Woo while down 5-0 after seven. Stanton hit the homer after Matt Brash entered the game in the eighth, and the Yankees scored twice off All-Star Andrés Muñoz to tie things up in the ninth. They won in the 10th on an Aaron Judge sac fly. Anthony Volpe looked like he’d be out at home on a great throw from Julio Rodríguez, but Cal Raleigh missed the tag, ending the game. Stanton was a career .104/.228/.146 hitter in 57 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter before taking Brash deep tonight.
Marcus Stroman yielded two runs in five innings Thursday in a no-decision versus the Yankees.
Stroman’s velocity was a little better tonight, as he averaged 90.6 mph with his sinker. He was still hit fairly hard, but most of the contact was on the ground and he kept the Yankees in the game while they were getting no-hit by Bryan Woo. Stroman did get checked on towards the end of his outing, as it looked like he tweaked his knee running to cover first. However, he was able to remain in after one warmup throw. He ends the first half with a 6.66 ERA in six starts.