Memorial Day best MLB pitcher strikeout props: Back Cubs starter against Rockies
After simulating every MLB game 10,000 times, the SportsLine Projection Model has identified the three best pitcher strikeout props for Monday's 12-game schedule

The Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto will look to continue his strong start to the season when he takes the mound on Memorial Day against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The 26-year-old Yamamoto (5-3, 1.86 ERA) has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. He is +310 to win the National League Cy Young Award at FanDuel Sportsbook, second only to the Pirates' Paul Skenes. On Monday, Yamamoto is set to square off against the Guardians' Gavin Williams (4-2, 3.94).
The top sportsbooks have set Yamamoto's total strikeout player prop at 6.5 (Over +110, Under -122), while Williams' is also 6.5 (Over +120, Under -150). The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every MLB game 10,000 times, rates Yamamoto Under 6.5 as a 4-star play on its five-star scale and Williams Under 6.5 as a 4.5-star play.
Williams Under 6.5 is one of the model's top three pitcher strikeout player props for Monday. But there are two other even better plays on Monday's 12-game schedule. Both of them are rated at 5 stars. Here they are:
Jameson Taillon Under 6.5 strikeouts (-154) vs. Rockies (2:20 p.m. ET)
Rating: 5 stars
Model projection: 4.6 strikeouts
This is the model's best pitcher strikeout prop of Memorial Day, with the simulations saying Taillon (3-3, 4.13) strikes out 4.6 batters, well under the line of 6.5. He has gone Under 6.5 strikeouts in eight of 10 starts this season. According to Baseball Savant, he ranks in the 32nd percentile in strikeout percentage (19.1) and in the 17th percentile in whiff rate (19.1). When he last faced Colorado, in September, he struck out six in 6.0 innings.
Charlie Morton Over 3.5 strikeouts (-140) vs. Cardinals (3:05 p.m. ET)
Rating: 5 stars
Model projection: 5.1 strikeouts
Like the rest of the Baltimore club, Morton (0-7, 7.68) has struggled this season, which is part of the reason this number is so low. But the 41-year-old veteran righty has pitched better over his last two appearances, giving up just two earned runs while striking out 10 across 7.1 combined innings. Both of those appearances came out of the bullpen, and on Monday he will get the start, which, in theory, could lead to more innings.
Gavin Williams Under 6.5 strikeouts (-150) vs. Dodgers (6:10 p.m. ET)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Model projection: 5.3 strikeouts
While Williams has averaged more than one strikeout per inning this season (57 in 48.0 innings), he has gone Under 6.5 in his last two starts, against the Twins and Brewers. On Monday he will face a potent Los Angeles lineup that's one of the best in baseball. The Dodgers rank second in both OPS (.799) and batting average (.263) and third in runs (294). The last time Williams faced Los Angeles, in September, he could not get out of the first inning, allowing five earned runs while striking out none in 0.2 innings.