Arenado, Smith Best National League Player Props June 27

There’s value on today’s MLB slate, with multiple player props to target in the National League.

Below, you can find some of tonight’s best player props to target on the MLB slate from the National League on the FanDuel Sportsbook.

The St. Louis Cardinals enter their series against the Miami Marlins on a puzzling note after losing two-of-three games to the Chicago Cubs. Even with the team struggling against the Cubbies, that wasn’t the case for their slugging third basemen Nolan Arenado. The Marlins are set to send Pablo Lopez to the mound tonight for Game 1, and in nine at-bats against the right-hander, Arenado has hit .444. Those are some solid numbers, albeit in a small sample size, but there’s no doubt that Arenado likes this matchup and should like it even more at home. Over his last 29 at-bats, Arenado has hit .345 and has a .966 OPS, including one home run and four RBI. Even with Lopez having a solid season for the Marlins, there’s still plenty to like about this matchup for Arenado. The power-hitting corner infielder is currently listed at +430 to homer tonight, and this is the type of value play you should be gravitating towards on this small slate of NL games. 

Regarding offense, the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t been as consistent as people would like, but there are signs that things could be turning around. The Dodgers are headed to Coors Field to take on the Rockies for a three-game series. Teams love to hit at Coors because of the altitude, and LA has been no different. Dodgers catcher Will Smith has continued to give the team production from the catching position, mashing 11 home runs and driving in 35 on the campaign. Smith has yet to face Colorado starter Chad Kuhl, but he does have seven of his 11 home runs this season against right-handed pitching, which should add to the intrigue. Smith has been one of the hotter hitters in baseball over the past week, hitting three home runs and owning a 1.125 OPS, which is built into his price. The Dodgers back stopper is listed at +240 to homer tonight, which is also the highest price in this contest. Even with those odds, there’s still value in that number and should be considered as a result. 

Even though there’s merit to targeting Arenado in this matchup, that doesn’t mean there still isn’t much to like about Pablo Lopez. Lopez has been one of the more consistent arms in baseball this season, boasting a 5-3 record with a 2.61 ERA and 83 strikeouts. Lopez has already faced this St. Louis team this season, pitching seven shutout innings and striking out nine batters. You know what you’re going to get out of the right-hander in most of his starts, and there was an element to his pitches that fooled the Cards the first time around. Therefore, this is an excellent matchup to target his alternate strikeout prop, set at six. If you have more faith in Lopez, you can target seven or more with plus-money value, but he’s been able to record six or more strikeouts in four of his past eight starts, which gives you some certainty in a matchup where he’s already pitched well this season. Looking towards six or more strikeouts currently pays out at -115 odds, which is an excellent price.