Ramirez, Mountcastle Best American League Player Props August 17

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.

The Cleveland Guardians hold a slight edge in the AL Central, and there’ll be an opportunity for them today to increase their lead in a matchup that should benefit a lot of their hitters. The Detroit Tigers are expected to send lefthander Daniel Norris to the bump, and Jose Ramirez should draw consideration in this matchup. The big slugging third baseman has been a key cog for the Guardians offensively, mashing 22 home runs and driving in 96 runs. Those numbers are impressive on their own, but Ramirez has also found a lot of success against Norris in previous meetings. In 23 at-bats, Ramirez has hit .348 against the lefthander. The one line that stands out as a value price is his odds of recording a multi-hit game, currently priced at +250. 

Things are wide open in the American League Wild Card race, and the Baltimore Orioles are making things difficult. One team they’ve been masterful against is the Toronto Blue Jays, with the O’s winning four straight games against them, including two in a row in this series. The Baltimore offense has gotten going of late, and the Orioles sit just 0.5 games back of their opponent tonight for the third Wild Card position. Ryan Mountcastle is one of their big bats that has put together a nice stretch against the Blue Jays. In the last four games against Toronto, the first baseman has clubbed two home runs and is one of the more difficult batters to get out. The Blue Jays will send righthander Ross Stripling to the bump, and Mountcastle has hit well against him in a limited sample. In five at-bats against Stripling, Mountcastle has hit two home runs and driven in three runs. Those numbers should play well in tonight’s contest, so targeting him to homer again at +340 makes a lot of sense. 

Things haven’t been going well for the AL East-leading New York Yankees of late, and the Tampa Bay Rays will have a chance to complete a three-game sweep over them tonight. The Bronx Bombers’ offense has gone dry in this series, and they’ve struggled to find any consistency over the last month. It’s unlikely that this matchup will get easier for the Yankees, with the Rays set to send veteran righthander Corey Kluber to the bump. The Rays starter holds a 7-7 record, a 4.40 ERA, and 103 strikeouts. Those numbers might not seem super impressive on paper, but he’s pitched 12 innings against the Yankees this year and given up just one earned run. Kluber might not scare you with his strikeout totals this year, but he’s already struck out five in one meeting against the Yankees. Kluber has an alternate strikeout prop of five that carries plus-money odds at +102, and that should be difficult to pass up on this slate of games.