Best MLB Bets for Saturday, August 13
DADDY'S HOME! I know it's been a minute since I've been on the written word here, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. While the next few weeks will be NFL-heavy for me, JohnnyVTV is still sprinkling in some MLB magic. Nice to know I still got it after the ladder piece on my guy "Thurston" Hurston Waldrep with five, six, and seven punchies last night against Cleveland.
Waldrep is very much looking like the guy I saw at Southern Miss and Florida a few years ago. Sticking to the subject of players I watched in college, I decided to talk a little bit more about a kid making his debut on Saturday for the New York Mets.
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New York Mets vs. Seattle Mariners
Nolan McLean O/U 4.5 K's
To be honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Nolan McLean being a full-time MLB starting pitcher. It's even tougher for me seeing him as one of the Mets' top prospects, and getting the nod (at least for now) as their top pitching prospect over Brandon Sproat. Technically, McLean was a two-way player at Oklahoma State before being drafted in 2023. But he was definitely a hitter primarily. He got some work on the mound out of the pen along with some starts here and there. The arm talent was always live, which makes sense considering he played third base.
After fully immersing himself in the pitching path, he's picked up a lot of different pitches over the last couple of years in the minors. The high 90's heater was always part of his repertoire, but he's added a strong sweeper, cutter/slider, change piece, sinker, and curve ball. Maybe I'm too stuck on the fact that I saw him as a primary hitter in college to think he will live up to the recent hype on the mound, but one thing I've always known is the kid can miss bats.
In his MLB debut, he will see the always-prone to swing and miss Seattle Mariners. The M's currently rank fifth-most in strikeouts (1,089) this season, which has usually been a staple to their offense in recent memory. Seattle also sits with the seventh-highest K rate (23%), as their big three in Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Randy Arozarena all have K rates above 22% and 120+ strikeouts on the season.
It's tough to know exactly what McClean's pitch count will be in his first start, but the matchup is there for K's in this one. Across 21 outings (18 starts) in 2025 in combined AA and AAA, he's punched out 127 batters in 113.2 IP. And he had 116 K's in 109.2 innings of work last season in 25 starts. Based on his ability to miss bats, it's not only worth it to take a shot on the over, but a little ladder action.
Bet365 is offering some interesting numbers for the kid, so I'm giving it a go. Remember you can sign up using the bet365 bonus code for a great welcome offer.
Pick: McLean OVER 4.5 K's +115
Pick: McLean 6 K's +230
Pick: McLean 7 K's +450 0.5u
Pick: McLean 8 K's +900 0.5u
Just as a reminder of what his power looked like in college at the dish.
NOLAN MCLEAN IS CLUTCH 😤
His fifth HR in the Stillwater Regional for @OSUBaseball❗ pic.twitter.com/9hCubApEZi
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2022
