The Blue Jays saw their four-game winning streak (and 5-of-6 stretch) come to an end in Cleveland on Tuesday, with the Guardians eking out a 1-0 nail-biter. Toronto will look to rebound this evening (7:10 p.m. ET), with ace Kevin Gausman taking the mound against rookie southpaw Logan Allen. We're also looking to rebound, as our SuperDraft player prop parlay whiffed on Tuesday, but we like our chances at making some cash tonight.
Tuesday was the definition of a tough-luck loss for the Jays (and also for us). Toronto out-hit Cleveland 9-3 but got shut out 1-0. Similarly, we crushed the Jose Ramirez UNDER on his six-point fantasy projection (he went hitless), but we missed all three of our other prop picks by 0.5. How maddening! As Pee-Wee Herman once said, "Go ahead, scream your head off!" (RIP Paul Reubens).
But hey, this is betting. We're not always going to hit on every prop — that's why prop parlays increase substantially with every additional leg we add. All we can do is get back in front of our laptops, put in the work (research), and make the best bets possible going into this evening to recoup our losses.
For those who aren't familiar with SuperDraft, sign up now! Users can pick their favorite over/unders via SuperDraft's Fantasy Props feature, bringing them closer to the action while having a chance to win cash prizes. You win three times the amount you wager if your two-legged player prop parlay hits, and the more legs you add to your player prop parlay, the larger your potential payout becomes.
Below, we'll break down four of our favorite SuperDraft player props for the Blue Jays-Guardians game on Wednesday evening. Users don't necessarily have to parlay all four picks together, though. Instead, you could make separate two-legged parlays to increase your win probability or attempt to hit it big if all four picks come through. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your night!
Best Blue Jays-Guardians prop bets today: SuperDraft player prop picks for Wednesday 8/9
*10x potential payout if users parlay all four correct picks
1. Kevin Gausman, SP, Blue Jays — OVER 6 strikeouts (4/5 confidence)
Gausman has enjoyed a fantastic year for Toronto, riding a 3.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and most importantly to us here, an AL-best 177 strikeouts. He only fanned six Orioles in his past outing, which seems to have lowered his over/under projection for us tonight. Schwing!
Here's why we like Gausman's OVER of six strikeouts, besides the fact that he averages double that number per nine innings (an AL-best 12.1 K/9, to be exact): Cleveland has also been very poor with the bat over the past month. The Guardians got no-hit by Framber Valdez last week and looked abysmal against Hyun Jin-Ryu before he got knocked out of Tuesday's game on a come-backer.
Between the five Guardians starting tonight that have faced Gausman, the right-handed ace has racked up 11 strikeouts in 54 at-bats. And with Cleveland averaging just 2.3 runs per game over its past eight contests, we're confident Gausman will go at least seven innings this evening. At his per-inning pace, that equals 9.4 Ks. Smash the OVER.
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2. Whit Merrifield, 2B/OF, Blue Jays — OVER 1.5 bases (3.5/5 confidence)
Merrifield has never faced the 25-year-old Allen, but he does hit lefthanded pitchers quite well. On the season, the Blue Jays All-Star is slashing .300/.333/.433 against southpaws, and eight of his 27 hits against lefties have gone for extra bases.
We also like the fact that Merrifield has been leading off almost exclusively, which translates to more opportunities for him. And with the batters behind him riding a hot streak, opposing pitchers have thrown a ton of strikes his way over the past month. We've got Whit pegged for two total bases but could easily see him winding up with three or four.
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays — OVER 6 fantasy points (3/5 confidence)
Vladdy hasn't exactly enjoyed a career year, but things have been looking up for the Jays slugger since he mashed his way to a Home Run Derby trophy in July. He's also demolishing lefty pitchers this season, with a .303 average, .806 slugging percentage, and 25 total bases in 66 at-bats.
Allen started strong this season, but he tapered off entering the summer season. Opponents are now slugging .415 against him on the year, and power-hitting righties like Vlad have started to feast on him. We like Guerrero Jr.'s ability to easily best six fantasy points this evening.
4. Jose Ramirez, 3B, Guardians — UNDER 6 fantasy points (2/5 confidence)
As we mentioned earlier in the intro, we're fully punting all Ramirez props right now — not just because he's facing a looming suspension for his brawl with Tim Anderson and the White Sox, but also because he's struggling in general.
JRam has also endured historical issues against Gausman, having produced just four total hits in 18 career plate appearances against the Jays ace. Of those four hits, only one went for extra bases. So, smash the UNDER like Ramirez smashed Anderson's jaw with a mean right hook!
