World Series Prop Bets: Rangers at Diamondbacks, Game 5

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

Utilizing numberFire's projections as a guide, here are some MLB player props bets that look appealing via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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

MLB Prop Bets to Target

Nathan Eovaldi Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-120)

The Texas Rangers will look to win their first World Series in franchise history tonight, and there's no one Texas fans want on the bump more than Nathan Eovaldi.

Despite having a bit of a departure from dominance in his most recent game, where he pitched 4.2 innings and allowed five earned runs, Eovaldi has yet to start a postseason game that ended in a Texas loss. More importantly, Eovaldi managed to fan eight batters in this game, and I think he is set up nicely to punch out at least five batters tonight.

He's struck out at least seven batters in four out of five postseason games and has fanned five or more batters in six of his last seven starts.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have maintained a 24.1% strikeout rate during the playoffs, which would have been the ninth-worst percentage among all teams during the regular season (for reference, the Rangers have posted a 21.9% strikeout rate this postseason, which would have been 20th among all teams in the regular season).

In his career, Eovaldi has struck out 77 batters in 73.2 postseason innings. During this postseason, he has struck out 36 batters in 30.2 innings.

There's also something to be said about the amount of time Eovaldi will spend on the mound tonight.

The Rangers' bullpen is neither rested nor reliable. Six relief arms were sent to the mound last night, and they gave up a combined six earned runs in four innings. This type of play has contributed to the bullpen's combined postseason 4.26 ERA, whereas the Diamondbacks' bullpen has maintained a 3.19 ERA.

Eovaldi is a safer option to have on the mound, so much so that I'd even look to target Nathan Eovaldi 6+ Strikeouts at +186.

Marcus Semien To Record A Run (-115)

Marcus Semien seems primed to reach home base tonight. He has scored a run in 10 out of 16 playoff games thus far, and numberFire's projections forecast him to score 0.84 runs tonight, the highest of all players.

But beyond history and projections, tonight's matchup against Zac Gallen could mean great things for the top of the Texas lineup.

After a slow start in the postseason, Semien has been solid as of late, reaching base in nine of his last 10 games (including a six-game hitting streak). He also has the added benefit of batting leadoff, resulting in him leading all postseason hitters in at-bats, eight more than the next-closest Ranger.

Semien has done well against Gallen in their brief encounters -- he's 5 for 11, including two doubles. Plus, he had a .362 OBP against righties in the second half of the season.

Based on all this, I feel confident about Semien reaching the base paths tonight, and it's more a matter of a Texas hitter batting in a Semien run.

Corey Seager and Evan Carter follow Semien in the lineup (Mitch Garver may bat third tonight, leaving Carter in the cleanup spot). Seager has been lethal all playoffs, posting a .306 BA, .442 OBP, and .694 SLG. The same goes for Carter, who has maintained a .309 BA, .433 OBP, and .509 SLG.

Gallen struggles against left-handed batters (at least in comparison to his splits against righties), allowing a .302 wOBA, .404 SLG, and 1.26 HR/9 in the regular season. Seager and Carter are both left-handed batters, and they are a combined 9 for 25 (.360 BA) against Gallen.

Gallen's been pretty awful these playoffs, throwing for 27.1 innings and allowing 16 earned runs. Perhaps he can turn it around tonight with Arizona's season on the line, but I much prefer to side with the top of the Texas batting order.

Semien to score a run is my preferred prop, but I'd also check out Seager and Carter's batting props on FanDuel Sportsbook. You can get Carter To Record 2+ Bases at +130, and I'd also keep an eye out for Travis Jankowski as another viable left-handed bat option.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.