If you’re looking for some Taijuan Walker props today, you’re in luck — the red-hot righty takes to the mound in Miami in search of yet another quality start, and it’s one of our favorite props on from the Friday slate.
We’re buying Walker in this matchup — we’ll tell you why and how to play it.
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Taijuan Walker Props Today (6/24)
OVER 17.5 Pitching Outs (-115 @ DraftKings)
After a bit of a sketchy start to the season, the veteran has peeled off a procession of quality starts, the most recent of which was against these Marlins, where he cruised to 6.2IP (20 Pitching Outs) while recording a season-high 10 strikeouts.
Viz courtesy props.cash
Beginning with that start against the Rockies a month ago, Walker since owns a 1.13 WHIP, 2.55 FIP, and a 2.48 ERA.
Batters are hitting just .228 against him in that stretch, and he held the Marlins to just 2 hits last week.
Despite the rocky start, Walker’s 2.78 ERA is currently a career-best.
Battered Bullpen
He’s a good bet to push for 100 pitches under normal circumstances, but it’s been a busy few days for the Mets bullpen, and they definitely need Walker to eat some innings today.
Carlos Carrasco lasted just 2.1 innings last night against the Astros, and the night before that, Trevor Williams was chased after 4.0 innings, creating a ton of unexpected extra work for the pen.
The Mets can’t afford much more bruising to their bullpen today, giving Walker what is likely a very lengthy leash.
The Miami Matchup
Miami has been surprisingly strong against right-handers for most of the year but is showing signs of regression. They owned the 4th-best wRC+ vs RHP since the start of May (120) but in the last two weeks they’ve regressed to 19th in that category (89 wRC+)
During that stretch, just two of the 10 starters they’ve faced have fallen short of our 17.5 Outs number.
Part of that is the fact that they play in one of the friendliest parks for pitchers, with loanDepot Park grading as the 4th-best for pitchers.
Conclusion
We liked this play even before weighing in the massive mileage on the Mets bullpen the last few days. That gives us a few extra outs on what is already a strong play against a mediocre lineup.
We’d play this line down to -130. Pass at 18.5 Outs.
