3 Player Props April 25: Harold Ramirez Is On Fire
Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 6:40 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
Who Starts for Houston?
Luis Garcia starts for the Astros tonight.
Garcia has had a rough season so far, yielding a higher ERA than he has in any other season.
While the strikeouts are there, so is the hard contact from opposing batters.
They are also doing a better job of elevating his pitches, as evident in his current 28.1-percent ground ball rate, which is a uniquely low percentage.
His main problem is his fastball.
Opponents are batting .417 and slugging .792 against it.
They are benefitting from his troublesome inclination to leave this pitch over the more middle parts of the strike zone, where it is easier for batters to make good contact.
One might suggest that Garcia should consider ditching his problematic fastball.
But this is not possible for him to do.
This pitch is one of his most favorite ones to throw -- he features his fastball 33.9 percent of the time, which is 23.1 percent more often than any of his other pitches minus the cutter.
My Favorite Rays' Batter
Harold Ramirez is worth relying on no matter which pitcher Tampa Bay's opponent starts.
Ramirez enters today on a 10-game hitting streak.
Moreover, he has achieved an extra-base hit in each of his last four games.
During his ongoing hit streak, he has achieved multi-hit performances in six of those games.
Ramirez also matches up well against Garcia, slugging .923 against his favorite pitches from righties.
Plus, he is already 2-for-6 with a double in his career against Garcia.
For these reasons, let's count on him to achieve at least an extra-base hit or multiple singles.
Best Bet: Harold Ramirez to record 2+ total bases at +125 with Bovada
Who Starts for Tampa Bay?
Drew Rasmussen starts for the Rays today.
It might seem too scary to against Rasmussen in any form or fashion.
But the nice thing about player props is that they do not require the team to do well.
Houston's lineup, as a whole, can struggle all it wants to, while we only need to rely on a single Astros' player.
Rasmussen's track record so far this season is anyhow easily overstated.
Two times he got to face bottom-feeder Oakland and Washington teams that have two of baseball's worst lineups and least productive offenses.
Most recently, he caught the Reds in the midst of a slump, as he helped them suffer their second straight shutout.
His two favorite pitches are his fastball and cutter, both of which often find the more middle parts of the strike zone, according to heat maps, where batters generally have an easier time making good contact.
My Favorite Astros' Batter
Alex Bregman is just the player to count on to hit the ball well, no matter who the opposing pitcher is.
He enters today's game on a seven-game hit streak.
As part of that hit streak, he has produced four extra-base hits, including three of them in his last four games.
Already, Bregman is 3-for-8 with a double and a home run in his career with Rasmussen on the mound.
He benefits from matching up well against Rasmussen , slugging .500 against his two favorite pitches from righties.
So, we can count on him to get us at least two singles or an extra-base hit.
Best Bet: Alex Bregman to record 2+ total bases at +130 with Bovada
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 7:40 p.m. ET at Target Field in Minneapolis
Who Starts for Minnesota?
Joe Ryan starts for the Twins today.
While his ERA looks attractive, his surface-level starts are deceptive.
They are largely the product of his .193 BABIP (batting average of balls in play), which is unsustainable -- as batters make contact against his pitches, their hits will come.
Home runs will come, too, apparently.
Ryan has allowed one home run in each of his four starts.
This tendency makes it especially promising that opposing batters today will use Ryan to improve their slugging rate.
They will especially take advantage of Ryan's fastball, which he throws upwards of 60 percent of the time while often leaving it in the more middle parts of the strike zone where batters are likelier to make contact.
His second-favorite pitch is his split finger.
While this pitch does appear hard to hit, he favors it against opposite-handed batters.
So, we can largely avoid Ryan's split finger by choosing a same-handed batter for the Twins.
DJ LeMahieu
My favorite Yankees' batter to do well today is DJ LeMahieu.
LeMahieu's three-game enters today on a three-game hit streak.
While this hit streak isn't as impressive as ongoing other ones, his last two games in particular have been impressive.
He is 5-for-7 with a double in his last two games.
Moreover, he benefits from matching up well against Ryan.
His slugging rate against Ryan's three pitches is .864 in 22 at-bats.
For the above reasons, we can count on him to earn at least two singles or an extra-base hit.
Best Bet: DJ LeMahieu to record 2+ total bases at +120 with Bovada
Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 6:40 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg
Who Starts for Houston?
Luis Garcia starts for the Astros tonight.
Garcia has had a rough season so far, yielding a higher ERA than he has in any other season.
While the strikeouts are there, so is the hard contact from opposing batters.
They are also doing a better job of elevating his pitches, as evident in his current 28.1-percent ground ball rate, which is a uniquely low percentage.
His main problem is his fastball.
Opponents are batting .417 and slugging .792 against it.
They are benefitting from his troublesome inclination to leave this pitch over the more middle parts of the strike zone, where it is easier for batters to make good contact.
One might suggest that Garcia should consider ditching his problematic fastball.
But this is not possible for him to do.
This pitch is one of his most favorite ones to throw -- he features his fastball 33.9 percent of the time, which is 23.1 percent more often than any of his other pitches minus the cutter.
My Favorite Rays' Batter
Harold Ramirez is worth relying on no matter which pitcher Tampa Bay's opponent starts.
Ramirez enters today on a 10-game hitting streak.
Moreover, he has achieved an extra-base hit in each of his last four games.
During his ongoing hit streak, he has achieved multi-hit performances in six of those games.
Ramirez also matches up well against Garcia, slugging .923 against his favorite pitches from righties.
Plus, he is already 2-for-6 with a double in his career against Garcia.
For these reasons, let's count on him to achieve at least an extra-base hit or multiple singles.
Best Bet: Harold Ramirez to record 2+ total bases at +125 with Bovada
Who Starts for Tampa Bay?
Drew Rasmussen starts for the Rays today.
It might seem too scary to against Rasmussen in any form or fashion.
But the nice thing about player props is that they do not require the team to do well.
Houston's lineup, as a whole, can struggle all it wants to, while we only need to rely on a single Astros' player.
Rasmussen's track record so far this season is anyhow easily overstated.
Two times he got to face bottom-feeder Oakland and Washington teams that have two of baseball's worst lineups and least productive offenses.
Most recently, he caught the Reds in the midst of a slump, as he helped them suffer their second straight shutout.
His two favorite pitches are his fastball and cutter, both of which often find the more middle parts of the strike zone, according to heat maps, where batters generally have an easier time making good contact.
My Favorite Astros' Batter
Alex Bregman is just the player to count on to hit the ball well, no matter who the opposing pitcher is.
He enters today's game on a seven-game hit streak.
As part of that hit streak, he has produced four extra-base hits, including three of them in his last four games.
Already, Bregman is 3-for-8 with a double and a home run in his career with Rasmussen on the mound.
He benefits from matching up well against Rasmussen , slugging .500 against his two favorite pitches from righties.
So, we can count on him to get us at least two singles or an extra-base hit.
Best Bet: Alex Bregman to record 2+ total bases at +130 with Bovada
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 7:40 p.m. ET at Target Field in Minneapolis
Who Starts for Minnesota?
Joe Ryan starts for the Twins today.
While his ERA looks attractive, his surface-level starts are deceptive.
They are largely the product of his .193 BABIP (batting average of balls in play), which is unsustainable -- as batters make contact against his pitches, their hits will come.
Home runs will come, too, apparently.
Ryan has allowed one home run in each of his four starts.
This tendency makes it especially promising that opposing batters today will use Ryan to improve their slugging rate.
They will especially take advantage of Ryan's fastball, which he throws upwards of 60 percent of the time while often leaving it in the more middle parts of the strike zone where batters are likelier to make contact.
His second-favorite pitch is his split finger.
While this pitch does appear hard to hit, he favors it against opposite-handed batters.
So, we can largely avoid Ryan's split finger by choosing a same-handed batter for the Twins.
DJ LeMahieu
My favorite Yankees' batter to do well today is DJ LeMahieu.
LeMahieu's three-game enters today on a three-game hit streak.
While this hit streak isn't as impressive as ongoing other ones, his last two games in particular have been impressive.
He is 5-for-7 with a double in his last two games.
Moreover, he benefits from matching up well against Ryan.
His slugging rate against Ryan's three pitches is .864 in 22 at-bats.
For the above reasons, we can count on him to earn at least two singles or an extra-base hit.
Best Bet: DJ LeMahieu to record 2+ total bases at +120 with Bovada
