New York Yankees star Aaron Judge highlights my top prop picks for Thursday’s MLB Game 3 wild-card matchups.
Today’s MLB props narrative: Judge has been swinging it well all year, and I expect him to deliver in the Bronx in tonight’s do-or-die game vs. the Boston Red Sox.
Check out my favourite MLB prop bets for Thursday’s postseason action, featuring a prediction on Nico Hoerner.
MLB prop bets
Best bet: Hoerner to score (+132)
Hoerner is locked into the No. 2 hole, setting him up ahead of the Chicago Cubs’ heavy hitters, including Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki.
San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish certainly won’t be around for long based on how aggressive San Diego was yesterday with its dynamite bullpen, which relieved Dylan Cease after 3.2 innings of scoreless ball.
San Diego had the best bullpen ERA and strand rate in the majors, and it’s difficult to expect too much out of Darvish.
The veteran had a 5.38 ERA in 15 starts and the lowest K/9 rate of his career.
I like the Cubs’ chances of cashing on Darvish over the first few innings.
Even against the Padres’ top-tier relievers, Hoerner is a guy who can create problems for any pitcher.
- Hoerner gets on base at a strong clip (.345 OBP), hits for average (.297) and rarely strikes out.
- He had the third-lowest K% among qualified hitters, and he slashed .333/.375/.467 over the final month of the season.
Key stat: Hoerner ranked second in the NL batting average (.297) and scored 89 runs.
MLB postseason player props
Judge 1+ RBI (+132): I want a piece of Judge with the Yankees’ season on the line.
The right fielder was the best hitter on the planet this season and has produced in both wild-card games (2-for-4 both nights). Tonight, he gets a plus matchup against a lefty.
Boston will also be down one of its top relievers after high-leverage righty Garrett Whitlock threw a season-high 47 pitches last night.
And remember, Judge is as good as anyone at sending the ball over the fence. So he doesn’t need to rely entirely on his teammates to cash this bet.
We also shouldn’t assume the bottom of New York’s lineup is incapable of getting on base and preventing Judge from hitting with runners on.
Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells have already delivered this series, going a combined 5-for-13 in the first two games.
Judge drove in 114 runs (fifth in MLB) primarily batting out of the No. 2 spot during the regular season.
MLB prop picks made at 1:15 p.m. ET on 10/02/2025.
Chris joined NorthStar Gaming from Covers.com where he was a publishing editor and wrote betting content. Before that, he was the sports editor at VICE Canada, worked for theScore and covered the Blue Jays for MLB.com. In addition to filling out the lineup card each day for the editorial team, Chris writes frequently himself, primarily on the NBA and MLB.