The Blue Jays have reached the make-or-break portion of the program. After spending most of August on the road, they returned home over the weekend to a painful reality, losing two of three to the Guardians.
Inconsistency remains the only consistency in Toronto, as the Blue Jays let another winnable series slip away. The salt in the wound was a heartbreaking loss in extra innings on Sunday. By the end of the week, September will arrive to indicate the clock that is only ticking faster with each passing moment. Are the playoffs a reality or is this Blue Jays group just another example of "what could've been?"
If the postseason and October baseball are in this team's future, it will have to start tonight with a soft spot in the schedule arriving at the right time. Toronto enters Monday just 2.5 games out of a wild-card spot, but in a crowded playoff picture, those deficits can feel much larger. Fortunately for the Jays, they'll give the ball to Kevin Gausman to start the week.
Per usual, we compiled our favorite SuperDraft player props for tonight's action in the big leagues, but for our Canadian audience, we're highlighting our favorite over/under bets for Monday night's Blue Jays-Nationals showdown. Users who sign up for SuperDraft 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.
SuperDraft users can win 3X the amount wagered if their two-legged player prop parlay hits. Consequently, the more legs you add to your player prop parlay, the larger your potential payout becomes, but as the long odds indicate, completing a clean sweep is challenging.
Below, we'll break down four of our favorite SuperDraft player props for Monday night's Blue Jays-Nationals game. 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 three picks come through.
Best Blue Jays-Nationals prop bets today: SuperDraft player prop picks for Monday 8/28
*10x potential payout if users parlay all four correct picks
1. Kevin Gausman, SP, Blue Jays — OVER 6.5 strikeouts
There are a lot of great pitchers in baseball, and it's highly unlikely that anyone would guess that Gausman has the second-most strikeouts in MLB this season with 195. He trails only the Braves' Spencer Strider (236), but Gausman has shown time and time again that he's capable of putting hitters away with ease.
The starter has only gone past six innings in a start once in his past 10 games, but he's managed to go over this number six times in those starts regardless. The only time during that stretch that Gausman failed to strikeout at least six batters was on Aug. 16 when he surrendered seven runs against the Phillies. Toronto's ace called for more urgency from the team following his last start. While Washington's lineup isn't known for striking out that much, expect the Jays to get a big showing from Gausman as they try to right the ship.
MORE SUPERDRAFT DFS & FANTASY PROPS: How to play SuperDraft
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays — OVER 0.5 singles
Guerrero is picking it up at the plate recently, recording a hit in eight straight games and a single in six. The Blue Jays slugger will have to shoulder more of the offense on Monday night thanks to Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman likely being sidelined with injuries.
The issue with Guerrero is that while he's homered in two of the past three, he's been unable to find extra-base hits unless they go over the outfield wall. He is slashing .268/.343/.441 on the season, which is lower than his expected average of .304 and slugging of .517, so perhaps there is some positive regression to come. Still, facing a struggling Josiah Gray should be enough for the Toronto first baseman to find a hit on Monday night.
3. Josiah Gray, SP, Nationals — UNDER 4 strikeouts
The second half of the season hasn't been memorable for Gray. Outside of a start last week against a struggling Yankees offense, Gray had been beaten up pretty good in three straight starts. He's only gone over this number in three of the past 10 starts and landed on four punchouts in four of them, meaning a push is also in play.
Gray comes in with an ERA of 3.85 but an expected ERA of 4.96, indicating that the Nationals' starter has been fortunate to this point. Facing a Blue Jays team that needs wins could make for a short night north of the border for Gray.
4. George Springer, CF, Blue Jays — OVER 0.5 singles
For the same reasons we like Guerrero, we also like Springer. If the lineup is lacking the usual cast of characters, it's on the other stars to step up and find some offense for Toronto.
Springer has a single in five of the past 10 games and also has the luxury of holding down the leadoff spot in the lineup. Even if Springer doesn't get the job done early, he'll have plenty of opportunities throughout the night to cash in.
Gray has relied heavily on his slider in 2023, throwing it 26.5 percent of the time — more than any other pitch. Advanced metrics show that Springer has been unlucky with breaking pitches in 2023, with his batting average of .250 and slugging percentage at .500 jumping to .285 and .596 in expected values. With underlying numbers showing that Gray might be due for some regression, Springer should be due for the positive end of that spectrum thanks to the Nationals starter's arsenal.
