Call to the pen
Fansided

2020 MLB Season: Checking in on Free Agent Player Prop Bets

By Ryan Sanders

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 18: (L-R) New York Yankee Pitching Coach, Matt Blake, Gerrit Cole, New York Yankee Manager, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees pose for a photo at Yankee Stadium during a press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 18: (L-R) New York Yankee Pitching Coach, Matt Blake, Gerrit Cole, New York Yankee Manager, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees pose for a photo at Yankee Stadium during a press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

‘Call To The Pen’ is checking in with ‘The Action Network’ and ‘PointsBet’ to find value on Player Prop Bets for the 2020 MLB season.

Pitchers and Catchers report in February and the 2020 MLB Season will be upon us before we know it.  We checked in last week on Division Odds and where you should be betting.  Today, we turn our attention to some early player prop bets from high-profile free agents.

Our partner, The Action Network, provides us with the latest player props to bet on.  These numbers will continue to shift as the offseason progresses and more bets are placed.  The player props today focus on some of the major free agents from this class, Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, and Stephen Strasburg since those generate the most interest.

Gerrit Cole

2020 MLB Season Strikeouts, Over/Under 280.5, -110

The Yankees won the prize of the offseason inking Cole to a 9 year, $324M deal.  The O/U for his regular-season strikeout total is 280.5.  In 2019, Cole racked up 326 Ks over 212.1 innings in what was a career year.  The only other time Cole approached that number was the year before when he got 276. Steamer projects Cole to rack up 281 strikeouts in 202 innings this season.

While Cole is staying in the American League, he will be facing the formidable AL East which is a more difficult division than the Central.  From a strikeout perspective, the East wasn’t meaningfully different from the West and the trades out facing the Yankees for the Astros and their magic trashcan.

The under seems to be the better bet in this case.  Cole has been in back to back postseason runs and after the Yankees season where everyone got injured, you have to figure they will monitor his workload closely.  That means early exits from starts, minimal outings of 100 pitches, and pushing back starts as needed with the Yankees more focused on ring chasing as opposed to regular season accolades.

Pick – Under

To Throw a No-Hitter, Yes +2000

Throwing a no-hitter has more to do with luck than skill.  Of the 4 no-hitters thrown in 2019, only two were thrown by one pitcher and they were Cy Young Winner and rotation mate Justin Verlander and former rotation mate Mike Fiers in Oakland.  Logic says you face the Orioles enough times and you’ll throw one, but picking one person to throw a no-hitter is mostly a fool’s errand.

No – Stay Away

Home/MLB News