Before we get swept up in daily games, this is the one time of year I like to zoom out and play the long game — pitcher strikeout futures. This list is my 2026 pre-season menu: a mix of ladder plays (same guy, multiple K totals at different prices) and a couple of standalone punts, built around one simple idea — swing-and-miss stuff + a path to innings is where the value lives. The prices/lines referenced are just what I was seeing at the time of writing, so shop around, use it as a framework, and (obviously) keep it responsible.
Eury Perez (MIA)
150 Strikeouts at 2.05 (Bet365)
170 Strikeouts at 3.40 (Bet365)
190 Strikeouts at 6.50 (Bet365)
Brandon Woodruff (MIL)
150 Strikeouts at 2.40 (Bet365)
175 Strikeouts at 6.00 (Sportsbet)
Really interesting case here as he spent almost two years out of the league, missing the majority of the 2023 season with injury, all of 2024 and most of 2025. When he returned last year, he made 12 starts with 83 strikeouts, and showcased a dominant 11.6 K/9 rate. This mark was the highest in his career, and whilst a smaller sample size, is still over a third of a year.
Even if he doesn’t recreate the strikeout success we saw last year, he has had four seasons of a 10.5 K/9 in a row from 2019 to 2022, and managed impressive strikeout numbers throughout. His best season, finishing 5th in Cy Young voting in 2021, saw a staggering 211 strikeouts, followed by 190 the year after in his most recent full season.
There is upside in his chase and whiff percentiles on last year when you compare to his season peaks, suggesting that even with a larger sample size, his K numbers should stack up.
There was concern around his Opening Day availability, and since we spoke about this play in our podcast episode, Woodruff has mentioned that at times he may need six days rest to be at his best. This has seen these lines drop to a price which provide significant value, and I’ll be investing accordingly on trust.
Kodai Senga (NYM)
130 Strikeouts at 3.60 (Bet365)
Only one on the list we will not be laddering, but he presents as a very intriguing case for 2026. With the aforementioned Freddy Peralta joining New York as the Ace of the rotation, the Mets loom as a chance of using a 6 man rotation, something they have experimented with in recent years. Senga is one of baseball’s most fascinating stories as a starting pitcher. His rookie season in the Majors was at age 30, where he finished 2nd in ROTY and 7th in Cy Young voting, also being named an All Star. He had a brilliant campaign, making 29 starts and amassing 202 strikeouts.
The 2024 season was cut short by injury after just one outing, and he made just 22 starts last year, managing only 113 innings. Still, this was good for a total of 109 strikeouts, with a notably lower strikeout rate than recent years. Despite this, his whiff rate and chase rate were both similar to that of his stellar rookie campaign, and there may be positive regression to come if these percentiles hold up in 2026.
Make no mistake, this play is full of risk, as we are talking about a potential 6th man in a 6 man rotation, or a guy who may even have to earn his role as a starter. Still, at the price of 3.60 for 130, I am happy to take that risk as a standalone play.
Chase Burns (CIN)
160 Strikeouts at 2.20 (Bet365)
190 Strikeouts at 4.25 (Bet365)
Another fascinating case, but with less risk than Senga. Chase Burns is being picked by some to potentially come out of the bullpen for Cincinnati, something he did late in last year’s rookie campaign. Those who followed our plays last year would have enjoyed some fruitful fill ups on Burns early, who debuted with 8 strikeouts in just 5 innings, before reaching a double digit tally in four of his next seven starts. One start included a horror show at Fenway where he was tipping pitches, but quick adjustments were made which saw his dominance return.
He missed a month of baseball from early August to Mid September, then returned as a bullpen arm, where he tallied 10 strikeouts in 9 innings.
If Burns does take on a setup role out of the bullpen for the Reds this year, we can forecast innings in the range of mid 60s to 70s, which obviously won’t be enough at that K rate, putting him just over 100.
In my view however, this is a 23 year old kid with clear starting pitching stuff, and even if he starts the year out of the bullpen, a struggle or injury to any of the rotation pieces will see him quickly stretched out and fanning hitters.
A smaller play but a nice price to find out.
Shota Imanaga (CHC)
140 Strikeouts at 2.35 (Bet365)
160 Strikeouts at 6.00 (Bet365)
Shota Imanaga had a very strange 2025 campaign. He was just fine, accumulating a mere 1.5 WAR with a 3.73 ERA and a WHIP below 1. His strikeout rate of just 7.3 per 9 was a notable drop off from his 9.0 in 2024 (where he finished 5th in Cy Young voting), and he tallied an impressive 174 Ks in that campaign.
Shota saw his peripherals of both chase and whiff rate drop last year, correlating to the strikeout rate, but he still boasted an impressive 84th percentile chase rate.
This one comes down to one simple question, which year was the outlier?
To get 2.35 about 140 strikeouts for a guy who has managed 174 already, represents great value, not to mention the 6 dollars about 160.
Prime bounce-back candidate in a weak division. Taking on trust.
Shane McClanahan (TBR)
150 Strikeouts at 2.20 (Bet365)
170 Strikeouts at 5.50 (Bet365)
180 Strikeouts at 11 (Bet365)
A former superstar pitcher returning to the game after two years of absence due to injury. McClanahan last pitched in 2023, then needed TJ surgery followed by nerve issues in 2024. Recent interviews show a motivated 28 year old, in the prime of his baseball career, eager to get back on the mound and reassert himself as one of baseball’s top line starters.
The 2022 campaign for McClanahan saw an impressive 10.5 K rate convert into 194 strikeouts in 28 starts. His last partial season of 2023 saw 121 strikeouts in 21 starts, which puts these props right in the range I want to play.
A full Spring Training for Shane, in a division I’ve already spoken about as being strikeout friendly given matchups with New York, Boston and Baltimore, has me wanting to ladder this up to 180 at 11s. The perfect bounce-back value play.
Cam Schlittler (NYY)
175 Strikeouts at 3.30 (Sportsbet)
The final guy I’d like to cover is Cam Schlittler, who broke onto the scene in the middle of last year’s season and impressed immediately as a young Yankees starter. His 14 starts saw him put together a sub 3 ERA, with an impressive 84 strikeouts in 73 innings. With Rodon and Cole both on the IL until May and June respectively, Schlittler will effectively serve as the SP2 in what is a thin rotation in the first half of the season for New York. In a strikeout prone division I have spoken at length about already, this young rising SP looks great value at the 140 mark, with a nice top up there at 160.
