Best MLB strikeout bets: 3 strikeout props for Tuesday 6/6

We've got a loaded MLB slate ready to roll on Tuesday night, with 15 games on the schedule featuring all 30 teams around the majors. There are more than a few pivotal matchups to dive into today, but let's first break down some valuable pitcher props. Here are three strikeout prop bets I'm targeting on Tuesday night in MLB.

Louie Varland over 4.5 Ks 

The Tampa Bay Rays possess one of the scariest lineups in baseball this season. TB is averaging 5.79 runs per game in 2023, which is good for the second-best mark in the league, and its 4.3 percent home run percentage also ranks second in the league. But it's been somewhat of an offensive struggle for the Rays over the last two weeks.

Over their last 13 games, the Rays have scored just 4.8 runs per game, and their 27.5 percent strikeout percentage ranks as the second-highest in baseball over that span (per Roto Grinders). This sets up well for Louie Varland, who's gone over 4.5 Ks in five of his seven starts this season. I think he clears this number against a lineup that's struggling to see the ball right now.

Hayden Wesneski under 4.5 Ks

Whereas the Rays haven't been seeing the ball well over the last two weeks, the Los Angeles Angels have been on the opposite end of the spectrum. Over the last 14 days, the Angels rank second in the MLB with a strikeout percentage of just 16.9 percent. LA also boasts the lowest strikeout percentage in the league against righties this season (16.4 percent).

Hayden Wesneski has gone over 4.5 Ks just three times in nine starts this year, and he's made it past the fifth inning only twice in his last six outings. 

Taijuan Walker under 4.5 Ks

This line doesn't make much sense to me. Taijuan Walker hasn't cleared even three strikeouts in any of his last five starts, and he's thrown fewer than 75 pitches in three of those outings. The Philadelphia Phillies don't allow Walker to go very deep in games, and I'm guessing this line is a bit inflated because of Aaron Nola's 12 strikeouts against these Detroit Tigers on Monday night. Take the under.