Marcus Stroman is having a tough time on the mound lately.
In his four starts this season, the Yankees pitcher has faced difficulties, resulting in an 8.16 ERA and a concerning inability to prevent runs.
He’s walking more batters and giving up more home runs than he usually does, but what really stands out is his knack for allowing hits. That part, I think, is probably the biggest red flag for what’s to come.
Last year, he averaged 9.7 hits allowed per nine innings, a stat that would place him third among qualified MLB pitchers if he had pitched just a bit more.
His second season with the Yankees hasn’t shown much improvement.
Stroman continues to give up more hits than innings pitched, managing 9.4 per nine innings, but he’s curiously hit batters less than ever before—just 5 per nine innings.
After coming back from a knee issue, he looked somewhat better, allowing only three hits in five innings against the Athletics. Still, perhaps he benefited from a bit of luck in that outing.
He struck just one batter in that game, which led to a surprisingly low .133 batting average against him—not a number that’s likely to hold up over time.
Next up, Stroman is set to pitch in the first game of the Queens Metro Series, offering the struggling Mets a chance to bounce back.
I’ve got my eye on Juan Soto’s total base props for that matchup, especially with him up against Stroman.
Soto has had some success against Stroman; in a limited sample, he’s hit 10-3 with doubles and home runs across 14 plate appearances.
So, I’d say look out for Juan Soto to hit over 1.5 total bases in that game.
