MLB Prop Bets to Target on Tuesday 8/31/21

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.

C.J. Cron To Hit a Home Run (+230)

Jordan Lyles is a bad pitcher.

That's the bottom line when it comes to Lyles, who is allowing 2.30 HR/9, a 4.39 xFIP, a 37.4% fly-ball rate, and a 39.9% hard-contact rate versus right-handed hitters this season. Lyles has allowed 22 home runs to righties alone this season and is a gas can of a pitcher we can target any time he is on the mound. So yeah, it's all about the Colorado Rockies' hitters tonight.

This is where we turn to C.J. Cron, who is en fuego right now with 10 home runs in the month of August. Overall on the season, Cron comes in with a 123 wRC+, .250 ISO, 42.7% fly-ball rate, 35.4% hard-contact rate, and 19.5% HR/FB rate versus right-handed pitchers. Cron has big-time power and faces the ideal pitcher to cap off his awesome August with one more home run.

Blake Snell Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+110)

Blake Snell has turned his season around in a hurry.

To say Snell's season has been a rollercoaster would be an understatement. He looked average at the start of the year and got even worse towards the middle part of the season, but he's turned things around in a big way over the past month. In his five starts in August, Snell has six strikeouts or more each start, including nine strikeouts or more three times. He has pushed his strikeout rate up to 29.7% after posting a 38.5%, 47.4%, and 50.0% strikeout rate in three of his last four games.

This turnaround has been amazing for Snell backers, and it can certainly continue tonight. He is going up against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who only have a 21.5% strikeout rate versus left-handed pitchers this season, which is 24th in the league. The under 7.5 strikeouts is sitting at -140, which is a decent amount of juice. That's too much money to lay on a pitcher who is clearly peaking right now, so side with the plus money on the over.

Yasmani Grandal To Hit a Home Run (+270)

Yasmani Grandal is back from his knee injury and is looking amazing.

Grandal returned last Friday and immediately made an impact with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs in only three games. The power-hitting catcher is in a spot to continue that power surge with a matchup against Bryse Wilson tonight. Wilson comes in allowing 1.91 HR/9 to left-handed hitters, along with a 5.79 xFIP, 12.4% strikeout rate, 45.7% fly-ball rate, and 33.3% hard-contact rate.

Grandal has a strong .265 ISO, 128 wRC+, 40.4% fly-ball rate, and 42.0% hard-contact rate versus right-handed pitchers, giving us the ideal hitting profile to have when it comes to finding home run upside. In reality, all of the Chicago White Sox hitters are in a good spot tonight because Wilson also allows 1.07 HR/9 to righties.