3 MLB Strikeout Props to Back on September 23: Bassitt, Gray, and Cole All Trending Over

Strikeout props are where the sharpest MLB bettors make their money late in the season, and today’s slate hands us three starters who are all trending in the right direction at the right time. Between a Baltimore veteran feasting on a struggling Toronto lineup, a Boston ace who hasn’t missed a beat all year, and a Yankees workhorse getting a plus matchup against Tampa Bay, there’s real signal behind each of these lines.

Here’s why all three should hit their over.

Chris Bassitt Over 3.5 Strikeouts vs. Toronto

Chris Bassitt has quietly turned in one of his better second halves, and his last three starts back that up: 6, 5, and 6 strikeouts. That’s a hit rate on this exact number in every single one of those outings, and it comes with a 6.68 K/9 that’s actually a tick above his season average. Bassitt is 8-5 with a 4.64 ERA on the year, so the overall run prevention numbers aren’t flashy, but this is a swing-and-miss market, not an ERA market, and Bassitt has been generating whiffs at a rate that easily clears 3.5.

The matchup helps too. He’s on six days of rest, meaning he’ll be fresh and stretched out rather than working on a short turn, and Toronto’s lineup has been vulnerable to strikeouts against right-handed starters down the stretch. Books have this line sitting around 3.5, but with three straight starts at 5-plus punchouts, Bassitt’s floor looks a lot higher than the number suggests.

Sonny Gray Over 4.5 Strikeouts vs. Cleveland

If you want a strikeout prop with almost no red flags, this is it. Sonny Gray has been the best version of himself in 2026, sitting at 17-5 with a sparkling 2.82 ERA across 163 innings, and he’s racked up 146 strikeouts to just 45 walks. That’s frontline ace production, and it’s shown up consistently in this specific market — Gray has cleared 4.5 strikeouts in each of his last seven starts.

Cleveland’s lineup isn’t the type to bail him out with soft contact, either; the Guardians rank in the bottom half of the league in team strikeout rate against, which plays right into Gray’s hands. With his season-long form and a matchup that hasn’t given him trouble, 4.5 strikeouts looks like the bare minimum for what Gray puts up on a good night, not a stretch.

Gerrit Cole Over 5.5 Strikeouts vs. Tampa Bay

Gerrit Cole sits at 9-9 with a 3.63 ERA this season, numbers that undersell how dominant he’s still capable of being on a given afternoon. Projection models have him right at 6.0 strikeouts for this start against Tampa Bay, comfortably clearing the 5.5 line, and the market agrees — you can find Over 5.5 priced as high as +128 depending on the book, which tells you the number is soft relative to where oddsmakers actually expect Cole to land.

Tampa Bay’s lineup has posted middle-of-the-pack strikeout numbers against right-handed pitching this year, and Cole has racked up plenty of swing-and-miss outings against similar lineups all season. Between the favorable projection and the plus-money odds, this is the kind of spot where the number and the price line up.

Today’s Edge

All three of these picks share the same theme: recent form, matchup context, and public lines that haven’t fully caught up to how these pitchers are actually performing right now. Check your MLB odds before locking anything in, since lines can move as first pitch approaches.

• Chris Bassitt OVER 3.5 Strikeouts (BAL vs. TOR)
• Sonny Gray OVER 4.5 Strikeouts (BOS vs. CLE, -121 via DraftKings)
• Gerrit Cole OVER 5.5 Strikeouts (NYY vs. TB, up to +128)

Three veteran arms, three favorable matchups, and three numbers that look beatable heading into tonight’s games.