Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52). Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

MLB K-props for Friday 4/12: Wacha a Royal pain for Mets

Coming off a 2-1 Thursday in which we cashed tickets of +144 and +124, we're looking to keep the momentum rolling into the weekend. Here are our three favorite K props for Friday's MLB slate. 

Bailey Falter under 3.5 Ks (-102 FanDuel)

Pirates vs. Phillies, 6:40 p.m. ET

Bailey Falter has his strengths, but swing-and-miss ability isn't one of them. The Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander ranks 144th out of 145 qualified pitchers this season in strikeout rate (7.3 percent) and 130th in out of zone swing and miss rate (28.0 percent), per Baseball Savant. You can get the Philadelphia Phillies to chase out of the zone, but Falter isn't the right pitcher to take advantage of that. Let's hope Bailey ... falters on Friday.

Michael Wacha under 5.5 Ks (-115 DraftKings)

Royals vs. Mets, 7:10 p.m. ET

Michael Wacha is off to a hot start with 13 strikeouts and only three earned runs in two starts this season, but one of those starts came against the lowly Chicago White Sox. This is a much tougher matchup against the streaking New York Mets. Over the last week, New York ranks No. 1 in MLB in hits (59), batting average (.312) and OPS (.859). The Mets also have the lowest strikeout rate in the league over that span (16.4 percent). Current Mets hitters have a .390 xwOBA and a 16.7 percent strikeout rate in 72 plate appearances against Wacha (Baseball Savant), so we like the matchup for an under. 

Freddy Peralta over 6.5 Ks (+118 FD)

Brewers vs. Orioles, 7:05 p.m. ET

We've already cashed a Freddy Peralta over this season, and we're going back for more on Friday. The Milwaukee Brewers starter has the sixth-best strikeout rate (34.9 percent) and the 23rd-best whiff rate (31.3 percent) in MLB among qualified pitchers. In his lone start against the Baltimore Orioles last season, Peralta fanned nine batters and gave up just two runs in 5.0 innings of work. We like his chances here. 

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
Saints, star CB 'moving forward' following trade chatter
Pacers ride historic shooting performance to Game 7 blowout of Knicks
Timberwolves mount incredible second-half comeback to stun Nuggets in Game 7
Xander Schauffele proves doubters wrong with historic win at 2024 PGA Championship
Four things we learned from Joey Logano's All-Star Race win at North Wilkesboro
Phil Foden lifts Manchester City to fourth consecutive English Premier League title
Watch: Aaron Judge blasts 13th home run in Yankees' seventh straight win
Canucks won't have linchpin forward for Game 7 vs. Oilers
Jags reportedly mulling extension for Trevor Lawrence, but is that the right choice?
Gordon Hayward calls role with Thunder 'frustrating'
Mets reliever Edwin Diaz showing short shelf life of closers
Three offseason moves the 49ers must make
Watch: NASCAR drivers exchange punches after crash in All-Star Race
Knicks star offers passionate defense of HC Tom Thibodeau after Game 7 loss
Knicks' Jalen Brunson suffers serious injury in Game 7 vs. Pacers
Dodgers add recently acquired left-hander to active roster
Report: 2023 No. 7 pick expected to terminate KHL contract, join Flyers
Mavericks advance to Western Conference Finals aided by controversial call late
Connor McDavid, Oilers hammer Canucks to force Game 7
Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk epic increases excitement for potential rematch