Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop: Will Daulton Jefferies Shutdown the Rays' Lineup?

Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop: Will Daulton Jefferies Shutdown the Rays' Lineup?

I know the NBA playoffs are on and I know that betting MLB pitcher props in April is dumb. But guess what? It isn't April anymore. Look at the calendar. It says May now. That's just how calendars work. Since it's May, that means pitchers will start striking more guys out (probably). Their starts will get longer (probably) and they'll start seeing more non-starters (probably). On top of that, we'll get friendlier numbers on guys that have pitched against tough teams (probably). All in all, it's a great time to bet MLB pitcher props. Even when the NBA playoffs are on. If you're worth anything as a bettor you can easily switch between channels so we should be good. The game I'm looking at tonight begins at 9:40pm ET so we'll need our channel surfing skills. I think we can do it. I believe in us.

Athletics vs. Rays Start Time and Where to Watch

• Date: May 2, 2022
• Game Time: 9:40 pm ET
• Where to Watch: MLB Network, NBC Sports California

Click here for Athletics vs Rays Odds

Click here to claim our best BetMGM Promo Code for all the MLB action or check out the offers below for a selection of the best offers available on site!

Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Pick

Daulton Jefferies Over 3.5 Strikeouts (-115) (Bet $115 to win $100)

*Odds available at FanDuel at time of publishing*

Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction

I don't know what's happening with DraftKings and BetMGM but it's killing me. It's almost 12:00pm ET and we don't even have pitcher props for the Tampa Bay Rays vs Oakland Athletics game tonight. What is this Russia? FanDuel has had lines up for hours. Their people are working night and day to get lines up while the rest just sit on their hands. You hate to see it. I say we support the hard work of the FanDuel people and bet this one there. (We kind of have to since no one else even has a number.)

Daulton Jefferies. That's this kid's name. He sounds like an investment firm or even a law group but he's not. He's a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and he has a cannon. The kid can hit 95 mph on the radar when he wants to but he has yet to this season. Still, I don't hold it against him. We've only seen him in April so far. This is May.

The haters are going to say that our new friend Daulton is not a "strikeout guy". No shit Sherlock. In what world do "strikeout guys" get lines like 3.5 (-115). It just doesn't happen. What the haters forget is that Jefferies could accidentally cover 3.5. He only needs four guys to sit down. That's not that many.

Now has Jefferies struck out four guys in a game this season? Yes. Once. Do you have any idea what that game and tonight's game have in common? I'll tell you. They are both at the Oakland Coliseum and they are both against AL East teams that strike out a ton. Jefferies fanned five Baltimore Orioles in the other game he pitched in Oakland this season. We only need four tonight (unless you YOLO this thing).

Getting four Ks tonight should be pretty easy because the Tampa Bay Rays are in town. In their last 188 at-bats they've struck out 54 times. That's a lot. The way I see it, Jefferies could easily face 20 of them tonight. The last time he pitched at home he faced 23 guys so I'm low-balling here. If Jefferies sees just 20 Rays tonight, my math says he sits at least four of them down. Maybe even five (+230). We should bet this.