Merrifield, Tucker Best American League Player Props July 4

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

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

Much like a lot of the Kansas City Royals this season, there hasn’t been a lot of consistency from Whit Merrifield. That’s not to say he doesn’t boast a lot of talent because he does, but there’s nothing to write home about a .608 OPS. Playing on a losing team for as long as he has affected his performance, but you still expect a lot more from the Royals’ second basemen. With that, today’s matchup for the Royals has the club facing off with the Houston Astros, and he’ll be going up against a familiar foe on the mound. The Astros will send Jake Odorizzi to the mound, and while he’s been solid, Merrifield has found a ton of success against him in his prior stints in the AL Central. In 24 at-bats against the Astros right-hander, Merrifield has a .458 batting average, three home runs, and six RBI. These numbers will likely be challenging to pass on in this matchup, even with his struggles this season. Merrifield is listed at +210 to record a multi-hit game today, and that number has a lot of value. 

The Houston Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball this season, and Kyle Tucker has been a large part of that success offensively. The Astros outfielder has recorded 16 home runs and driven in 53 runs, paired with a .845 OPS. Houston has had no problem scoring runs, and plenty of weapons in this batting order can cause damage on any given night. With that, Tucker has posted great power numbers against right-handed pitching, and that’s what he’ll see tonight with Kansas City starting Jonathan Heasley. Heasley has struggled this year, owning a 5.20 ERA. Tucker has faced him twice in his career, taking him deep in one of those at-bats. Tucker has mashed ten of his 16 home runs this season against right-handed pitching, and he presents a lot of value to homer today at +390.

The Chicago White Sox finished a three-game sweep on the West Coast over the San Francisco Giants and were impressive. The White Sox will return home to face the AL Central division-leading Minnesota Twins in an important three-game set. Johnny Cueto is expected to open the series on the mound for Chicago, and he’s been excellent this season, posting a 2-4 record with a 3.33 ERA and 45 strikeouts. Cueto doesn’t have much experience against the Twins’ lineup, but he’s been consistent with his total strikeouts. The Twins don’t strike out at a high clip, but with one of Cueto’s alternate strikeout lines set at five and presenting plus-money value at +116, it’s hard to avoid that price. In June, Cueto made six starts for the White Sox and struck out five or more batters in five of those six starts. With his consistency over the last month, this should be something you can target here tonight.