Dinger Tuesday: With Votto, we'll hit the lotto

Luis Arraez went 5-5 last night, can that make yesterday's hit parlay a win? It can't but note that Arraez is on fire. It's Tuesday, so you know what that means.

Time for some Dingers

Dinger Tuesday is a terrific promotion from FanDuel. If you bet a home run prop in a game, you get a bonus bet back for every HR hit in that game, up to $25 total. It's best to both find a strong HR prop and a game that looks good for quite a few homers. We've got two such targets for today.

Rockies @ Reds

The Cincinnati weather has been favorable to homers to start the week. Yesterday, forecasts projected a 26% expected boost to HRs, and we saw four total in the first five innings.

Today, it's looking even better, with a projected 33% boost for home runs. That's the type of game we need to load up a prop pick, particularly with neither starting pitcher looking that menacing.

Joey Votto (+420 FanDuel)

There are quite a few enticing options in this game, but we like the idea of going to Joey Votto in his second game back. Votto's first game of the year went about as well as it could have, with the long-time Red going 2-3 with a homer.

Sometimes you just need to opt for momentum when you're betting homers, and we expect Votto to be feeling loose and confident heading into tonight's game. We'll take a chance on him tacking on another homer to his first week of the season.

Braves @ Phillies

Atlanta and Philadelphia are here as a solid option for a few reasons. First, there's a modest expected bump in homers, with a 10% boost projected. Then we have Spencer Strider, who comes into this one having allowed 12 HRs on the year, the second-highest total among today's starters. While Phillies' starter Ranger Suarez has been stingier, that may not matter against this Braves offense. Atlanta is leading the league with 1.75 HRs/game, and over their last three, they've averaged an absurd 3.67 home runs per game. 

Philly's offense hasn't been far behind of late, averaging the ninth-most HRs over their past three, so we like both sides to find the long bomb in tonight's NL East battle.

Ozzie Albies (+520 FD)

We're opting to go with Albies, who bats fifth in the Atlanta lineup. The second baseman has been on fire, piling up 10 hits over his last five games, three of which have been home runs.

Albies is hitting lefties far better, with an average of .408 and an ISO of .316. He's also knocked a homer off Suarez before, which gives us some confidence he can keep this hot streak rolling.

In the news ...

A Zion Williamson trade feels imminent this week — The NBA Draft is this Thursday, and the betting market has relatively solidified who the top five prospects are. One such player sure to be taken with either pick No. 2 or No. 3 is Scoot Henderson, an electrifying guard out of the G-League. It's been reported numerous times that the New Orleans Pelicans want Henderson, and are working to try and move up to either the second pick (owned by Charlotte) or the third pick (owned by Houston). To do so, the Pelicans have reportedly been dangling Zion Williamson as the centerpiece for any such move. Expect something to happen here prior to Thursday night.

Sam Howell has reported edge in Washington QB battle — Howell, a fifth-round pick from last season, appears to be taking the Commanders' starting quarterback job for this upcoming season. The second-year passer out of UNC is battling with Jacoby Brissett, and reports from Sports Illustrated and words spoken by WR Jahan Dotson suggest Howell is the guy. Washington is currently +1100 to win the NFC East.

Draymond Green opts out of player option — While it doesn't necessarily mean that Draymond Green and the Warriors are done, it is clear that Green plans to explore his options this offseason. The 33-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year opted out of his player option, making him a free agent for the first time. The Warriors are motivated to bring him back, but the Lakers and Heat have emerged as potential suitors for Green's services.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll