Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics, Prediction, Pick, Odds: Can Cole Ragans Hit His Strikeout Prop?

Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics, Prediction, Pick, Odds: Can Cole Ragans Hit His Strikeout Prop?

The Oakland Athletics are visiting the Texas Rangers tonight at 8:05 pm ET and that means one thing. Gambling. Now a lot of people are probably looking at sides and totals but when I think about baseball, all I can think about is pitcher strikeout props. They are what makes the world go around. Everyone knows that. Lucky for us, we've got a bet that is what dreams are made of. We get to bet a guy to do something he's never done before. Be honest with yourself, this kind of opportunity doesn't come around every day. When it does, you have to bet it. It's the right thing to do.

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Rangers vs. Athletics Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds

• Date: September 13, 2022
• Game Time: 8:05 pm ET
• Where to Watch: MLBTV

Click here for Rangers vs. Athletics odds

Cole Ragans Over 3.5 Strikeouts (+115) (Bet $100 to win $115)

We're at DraftKings here because FanDuel doesn't even have a number for this guy. That's how you know it's legit. They don't like to put out lines on guys when they know they're going to lose. It's just business. If you can't play at DraftKings, then you could look at BetMGM. You will only be getting 3.5 (+110) but at least you'll be gambling. That's what is important here.

Let me tell you about this kid Cole Ragans. He's a lefty and he's one of the Rangers' top prospects. He was born after I graduated high school so he's young, but that's a good thing in sports. You don't want to bet on old guys. The thing about this kid is he was a strikeout guy in the minors but so far in the big leagues, he's only got 12 strikeouts in 21 innings of work. Not great but those type of numbers will give us 3.5s for plus money. We want that.

So this kid has only pitched once after a stint on the IL but he looked pretty good. Ragans fanned three Houston Astros in just 49 pitches. Obviously, that is a pretty low pitch count but he didn't have to go through a rehab assignment in the minors so it makes sense to limit him. I think he'll be back in the 70-80 range tonight which should help. The more pitches he throws, the more opportunities for strikeouts. That's just how pitches work.

Luckily Ragans will be throwing pitches to the Oakland Athletics. Over the last two weeks, only six teams have struck out more than they have. We're looking at 115 whiffs in just 403 at bats. That's terrible. I know Ragans pitched against these guys a month ago and only fanned three but he was very close on multiple guys that ultimately did not strike out that game. There's like nine guys that could be in the Oakland lineup tonight that have all fanned at least 25% of the time over the last two weeks. I think this is the night Ragans finally goes four plus in the strikeout column.