There are maybe five days left in the regular season and if you're still betting baseball this deep into September, you're either chasing a playoff race or you love the sport more than your wallet does. I respect both. RotoWire's Wednesday card is out, and the name that jumps off the page at me is Zach Neto.

Neto against the Athletics. The Angels' shortstop has quietly become one of the few genuinely fun things about watching that ballclub, a gamer who plays like it matters in September even when the standings say it doesn't. He's exactly the guy I want in a prop bet this time of year, when half the league is playing out the string and mentally packing lockers. You remember how September baseball used to catch guys napping. The ones who show up anyway, those are the bets that cash.

The logic here is simple. The A's pitching staff has spent the last month giving up hits like Halloween candy, and Neto hits near the top of an Angels order that still has some professional bats in it. A big day at the plate is a reasonable ask, and RotoWire's same-game parlay builds around him are worth your ten minutes of homework before you fire anything.

Ten minutes of homework. I said as much in my betting guide back before the season, and nothing since has changed my mind. Check who's actually in the lineup, because late-September lineup cards get scribbled in pencil. Check the umpire if you're chasing totals. And check the ballpark, because a September night in Anaheim plays a lot differently than an afternoon in Texas.

Beyond Neto, the Wednesday card has the usual spread of same-game parlays and props for the teams that still have something to play for, and that's where I'd focus. With the Wild Card berths coming down to these final days, the teams still alive are the ones giving you honest effort, and honest effort is what you're betting on every single time. The eliminated clubs, the ones running out prospects and looking toward spring? Fade material until further notice.

The season ends Sunday. Six months of box scores, and it all comes down to a handful of games deciding the last playoff tickets. If you're going to have a little action on a Wednesday night in late September, put it on the guys who are still hungry. Neto qualifies.