3 MLB Prop Bets to Target on Wednesday 9/8/21

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up (to the tune of cold hard cash) to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.

Utilizing our projections as a guide and looking at the odds provided at MLB odds, here are some spots where you can find value today in the prop-betting market.

Please note that betting lines and our game projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.

Salvador Perez To Hit a Home Run (+210)

Can Salvador Perez keep the home runs going?

The veteran catcher has the second-most home runs (41) in the MLB this season and has a juicy matchup against Matt Harvey to add another one. Harvey comes in allowing 1.37 HR/9 to right-handed hitters, along with a 4.50 xFIP, and a 14.9% HR/FB ratio. His numbers don't jump off the page as horrible overall, but he is still getting beat by the long ball this year, giving up five home runs in his last four starts.

We also get the added factor of wind blowing out in Baltimore, which is already a great hitter's park to begin with. That only adds a cherry on top.

Perez has .234 ISO, a 113 wRC+, a 36.5% fly-ball rate, a 45.4% hard-contact rate, and a 24.2% HR/FB ratio versus right-handed pitchers this season. The power is still there for Perez after a decade of playing time in the MLB, and it should be on full display tonight.

Jorge Soler To Hit a Home Run (+260)
Adam Duvall To Hit a Home Run (+270)
Ozzie Albies To Hit a Home Run (+360)

A ménage à trois of home runs?

Sometimes a matchup can be so good you simply cannot pass it up. That is what we have tonight with the Atlanta Braves' hitters at home against Sean Nolin of the Washington Nationals. Nolin only has a total of 17.1 innings pitched this season, and even though that's a small sample size, it's terrible. Nonetheless, we could turn to his entire MLB career since 2013 -- 48.2 innings pitched -- which is also terrible.

Nolin has allowed 1.69 HR/9, a 4.98 xFIP, a 14.3% strikeout rate, a 39.3% fly-ball rate, a 35.7% hard-contact rate, and a .292 ISO to right-handed hitters throughout his career. He is a bad pitcher -- full stop.

This presents a very favorable matchup for the Braves' righties, and ultimately, a good problem to have. The problem is that there are too many great options to choose from, and I can't decide.

Jorge Soler has a .308 ISO, a 50.5% fly-ball rate, a 25.5% HR/FB ratio, and a 43.0% hard-contact rate versus left-handed pitchers this season.

Adam Duvall has a .192 ISO, a massive 58.4% fly-ball rate, and a 36.4% hard-contact rate versus lefties this season.

Ozzie Albies has a .277 ISO, a 149 wRC+, a 46.5% fly-ball rate, and a 34.9% hard-contact rate versus left-handed pitchers this season.

They all have fantastic power numbers and are all in a great spot to hit one out of the park against Nolin -- or the terrible Nationals' bullpen -- tonight.

Vladimir Gutierrez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-108)

Can we continue to target the Chicago Cubs for pitcher strikeout props?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is that the Cubs come in with a 26.3% strikeout rate versus right-handed pitchers with their current roster, which is dead last in the league. It's no secret the Cubs have been struggling this season and the strikeout props against them have been a consistent spot to look, and that's not stopping in the last month of the season.

We turn to Vladimir Gutierrez, who comes in with a 17.9% strikeout rate this season, which is low, but we need to dig deeper. Since the All-Star break, Gutierrez has pushed his strikeout rate higher than his season average in five of his nine starts. He also started throwing more sliders in August, which helped him increase his strikeout rate. Things are trending upward for the Cincinnati Reds' young pitcher and he has a soft matchup to cash in on the over 4.5 strikeouts.