MLB Player Prop Bet Odds & Picks: Saturday (5/18)
It will be difficult for any Major League Baseball pitcher to outperform Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes from yesterday, as the righty struck out 11 batters in six no-hit innings to earn his first career victory. Skenes topped 100 mph on his 100th pitch of the game, and per OptaSTATS, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out at least the first seven batters of the game and also finish with no hits allowed.
Who do we have our eyes on from a player prop perspective this weekend?
Read on for our Top MLB Player Prop Bets for Saturday.
Saturday’s Best MLB Player Prop Bets
Let’s dive into our top MLB player prop bets on Saturday’s slate of games.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Luis Gil Under 1.5 earned runs (-140)
The New York Yankees have a tough decision on their hands of who to remove from the rotation when ace Gerrit Cole is healthy, but Luis Gil is doing everything in his power to make sure it is not him. Gil has pitched to an impressive 2.51 ERA through eight starts, and given that he had thrown just 33 â…“ total innings before this season, the Yankees will likely be cautious with his workload going forward. However, a shorter than usual outing works in our favor with this wager, and we have full confidence that Gil can dominate a Chicago White Sox lineup that ranks 26th in batting average and 29th or worse in on-base percentage and slugging against right-handed pitching this year.
Gil has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his eight starts, and this is a confident play since he has been on fire with one earned run allowed in 18 â…“ innings this month. The White Sox have scored three or fewer runs in nine of their previous 14 games, and we expect them to do minimal damage against Gil in this early afternoon tilt.
Pete Alonso Over 1.5 total bases (+140)
New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso is having a disappointing season by his standards, entering Friday batting just .226 and ranking 60th in OPS (.765). However, he has at least one hit in seven of the last nine games, with four multi-hit games in that span. And thanks to seven doubles and two home runs in that stretch, he has raised his slugging percentage nearly 50 points over the previous 10 days, and faces a pitcher that he has had success against in the past.
Alonso is 6-for-15 with two home runs and a 1.271 OPS against Miami Marlins southpaw Braxton Garrett. His .805 OPS is the second-highest of any Mets players against left-handed pitchers this season (min. 30 at-bats), and Garrett should oblige in Alonso’s power numbers in his second start of the season, after allowing hard-hit balls 46.2% of the time and barrels on 7.7% of all balls in play in his debut.
With a .200 batting average against left-handed pitching, we would not be wise to think Alonso would go Over this projected total bases prop with a multi-hit game, but he has done so often over the last two weeks that perhaps this is his path to cashing this prop instead of with just one extra-base hit. The Miami Marlins may have shut out three consecutive opponents, but Alonso will make sure it does not happen a fourth straight time.
Alec Bohm Over 0.5 RBIs (+165)
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm’s .331 batting average is the highest of all healthy Phillies, and his team-leading 37 RBIs are five more than the next closest teammate. Bohm is one of two players with 30-plus RBIs that has four or fewer home runs, but he has still managed to drive in at least one run in four of the previous five games, and contributes offensively in many other ways, like leading the league in doubles.
Bohm has slashed .300/.364/.600 in 10 career at-bats against the Washington Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore, and Gore has had difficulty with Philadelphia in the past, allowing a .300/.341/.543 slash line in 80 combined at-bats against current Phillies hitters. Seventeen of Bohm’s 37 RBIs have come against left-handed pitching this season despite 57 fewer at-bats than against righties, which makes this a confident wager.
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.