JDBetsHQ locked in Ben Brown over 5.5 strikeouts. The Cubs rookie is averaging exactly seven punch-outs across his last five appearances while working only 5.1 innings per outing, so JD loves the one-and-a-half strikeout buffer above the posted line. St. Louis has fanned 8.4 times per game over the past ten, 18th in MLB, and nobody in the Cardinals lineup has ever faced Brown, giving the pitcher a first-look advantage. JD noted that Brown’s strikeout arsenal plays up late—he is already clearing the 5.5 mark in as few as four innings—so a normal six-inning leash would place him firmly in the 7–8 K window.