It’s been a trying season for Bowden Francis, but he’s got a quality bounce-back chance on Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers.
The pregame narrative: Texas is 2-8 in its past 10 games, batting just .187 as a collective in that span. Francis (2-6, 5.54 ERA) authored a quality start at Globe Life Field last season and will look to do so again tonight.
Check out my Blue Jays vs. Rangers prop picks on May 27, featuring Francis and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Blue Jays picks vs. Rangers
Best bet: Francis over 4.5 Ks (+100)
I typically look for a way to fade Francis when he’s on the mound, but this price caught my eye.
The Rangers’ offence is having a rough go of it, ranking 26th in MLB in wRC+. Francis has had trouble working deep into games this year, but Texas is unlikely to steamroll him, given how poorly the bats have fared.
And of course, the deeper he works into a game, the better his chances of cashing this bet.
Francis is 5-5 vs. this line, but he’s also only made it through 5.0 innings in half of his starts.
He doesn’t have the nastiest stuff, but it’s not as bad as it may initially seem.
All three of Francis’ off-speed pitches (splitter, slider, curveball) have a whiff rate of 34.3% or above. The MLB average whiff rate for non-fastballs is 31.9% this year, per Baseball Savant.
And remember, he’s drawing an enticing matchup tonight.
- Over the past two weeks, the Rangers have the sixth-highest K rate in the majors (23.5%).
- Francis had six strikeouts over 6.0 innings in Texas last year.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar result this time around.
Key stat: Opposing pitchers are 7-2 vs. a 4.5-strikeout line in the Rangers’ past nine games.
Quick pick
Guerrero over 1.5 total bases (+125): Backing Vladdy over 1.5 bases has been a tough pick to make this year because of his discerning eye at the plate.
Guerrero has a 13.7% walk rate, which ranks in the 90th percentile. Walks don’t count toward total bases, so that’s not good news for this bet.
But on the other side of this matchup, Nathan Eovaldi is even more diligent around the strike zone than Guerrero. The Texas starter has a 3.5% walk rate (98th percentile).
Guerrero is 10-for-23 with three extra-base hits and just one walk in his career against Eovaldi. Hopefully, the right-hander continues to challenge Vlad and forces him to put the ball in play.
In May, Guerrero has an .867 OPS and is averaging 1.7 total bases per game.
Blue Jays vs. Rangers picks made at 9:20 a.m. ET on 05/27/2025.