Cooper Albers shares his top player prop bets for Thursday’s MLB game between the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves.
The Atlanta Braves will go for their fifth straight win in Thursday night’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs at Truist Park.
The Braves (30–13, 1st NL East) took the first two contests against the Cubs (27–16, 1st NL Central), now looking to complete the three-game sweep to burnish their MLB-best record.
Looking at the pitching probables, we’ve got superstar Atlanta southpaw Chris Sale taking on rising Chicago right-hander Ben Brown.
First pitch is tabbed for 7:15 p.m. ET. Atlanta enters as a 1.5-point home favorite with -181 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Chicago is a +149 underdog, with the game total set at 7.5 runs.
Let’s dig into the top player prop bets for Thursday’s series finale between the Braves and the Cubs.
For the most part, this pick has little to do with Chris Sale at all. The 2024 National League Cy Young winner hasn’t skipped a beat, following last year’s injury-shortened campaign. The veteran southpaw, 37, has posted a 2.20 ERA (3.06 xERA) with a 0.88 WHIP and 56 strikeouts through his first eight starts (49 IP) — spearheading the top pitching staff in baseball.
Still, Sale has seen his share of traffic on the basepaths, allowing more than 4.5 hits in four of his last six turns. And nobody hits lefties better than Chicago. The Cubs lead MLB with a 126 wRC+ and .788 OPS against southpaws in 2026, while also ranking fourth with a .267 batting average. The club may not plate many runs with Sale on the bump — he’s only surrendered more than two earned runs once this season — but they should at least make things interesting.
Since we’re on the topic of Chicago’s impressive hitting against southpaws this season, let’s talk about Nico Hoerner. The 29-year-old second baseman is hitting an impressive .327 with a .905 OPS, a 159 wRC+, and six extra-base hits — including two home runs — against lefties in 2026.
The two-time Gold Glover has also been flawless in his career against Sale, collecting three hits in three chances against the fabled ace.
Outside of hitters who also pitch, Matt Olson is an early frontrunner for the National League MVP award. Anchoring the top offense in MLB, the three-time All-Star is hitting .295 with a 1.012 OPS and a 177 wRC+ through 43 games this season. His 14 home runs rank fifth in the majors, and his 37 RBIs are one shy of the MLB lead.
The lefty slugger, 32, has been especially effective against right-handed pitching, trailing only Colorado’s Mickey Moniak for the top OPS (1.100) and wRC+ (199) in the sport. He should stay hot against Chicago righty Ben Brown, a typical reliever who’s making his second start of 2025 following Matthew Boyd’s placement on the injured list. While Brown owns an impressive 1.82 ERA across 13 appearances this season, he owns a 5.08 ERA over 24 career starts.
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