Friday’s MLB slate is loaded with quality starting pitching, and that means strikeout props are back on the menu. Three arms in particular stand out today: guys who miss bats for a living, facing lineups built to help them do it again.

We’re breaking down three strikeout props with real, verifiable reasons behind them — not just “he’s good, take the over.” Here’s why each of these lines has value.

Zack Wheeler Strikeouts vs. Blue Jays

Zack Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball all season, sitting at 10-2 with a 2.49 ERA and an absurd 10.80 K/9 for the Phillies. That strikeout rate alone tells you this is a swing-and-miss arm at the peak of his powers, and it’s trending up, not down — Wheeler has averaged 8.4 strikeouts per nine over his last five starts and 7.8 over his last ten, both well above his already elite season number.

He draws Toronto today, and Jose Soriano gets the ball for the Blue Jays in the other dugout, but this one is about Wheeler’s stuff, not the opposing pitcher. Toronto’s lineup has shown vulnerability to swing-and-miss arms, and with Wheeler carrying a career-best strikeout rate into a start against a lineup he can carve up, the case for the over on his strikeout total is straightforward: recent form says he’s trending toward another big punchout total, not a step back.

Books have shaded his typical line around 7.5 strikeouts, but given his last five and ten-start averages both clear that number, there’s a real argument the market hasn’t fully caught up to just how dominant Wheeler has been lately.

Cade Cavalli Strikeouts vs. Reds

Cade Cavalli doesn’t have Wheeler’s name recognition, but the Nationals righty has quietly built one of the more interesting strikeout profiles in the league this year. He’s sitting at 8-5 with a 3.52 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 122.2 innings — a strikeout rate that translates to nearly a punchout per inning, which is the kind of number that should have strikeout bettors paying attention.

The matchup context matters here, too. Cavalli has racked up six or more strikeouts in six of his last seven starts against teams with a losing record, and Cincinnati fits that description today. When Cavalli faces lineups that aren’t stacked with elite bat-to-ball hitters, he’s consistently found swings and misses, and that trend has held up across a large enough sample to trust it.

With a 1.29 WHIP that shows he’s not just around the zone but effectively burying hitters in tough counts, Cavalli projects as a strong strikeout play against a Reds club that hasn’t given him trouble in the profile that matters most.

Logan Gilbert Strikeouts vs. Rays

Logan Gilbert has been steady for the Mariners all year, and his underlying strikeout numbers back up why he’s a strong play today. He’s averaging 6.29 strikeouts per game on the season, and that number has actually ticked up recently — his last ten outings show an average of 6.8 strikeouts, well above his season mark.

Gilbert’s typical strikeout line has hovered in the 6.5 range for most of the year, and projection models have him around six strikeouts for today’s matchup with Tampa Bay. What makes this one interesting is the recent trend line: in outings against Baltimore and Boston earlier this summer, Gilbert posted 10 and 8 strikeouts, respectively, showing he has another gear available when the matchup sets up in his favor.

Facing a Rays lineup on the road, Gilbert’s recent form suggests he’s building momentum into this start, and a pitcher trending above his season strikeout average over his last ten outings is exactly the kind of profile worth targeting before oddsmakers adjust.

Lock These In

All three of these pitchers are trending in the right direction heading into their starts today, and the recent-form numbers back up the case for each one. As always, confirm the exact lines and live MLB odds at your sportsbook before placing anything, since lines can shift closer to first pitch.

Three pitchers, three favorable matchups, and three strikeout trends all pointing the same direction — that’s the kind of alignment worth building a prop card around today.