MLB Player Prop Bets & Picks: Yankees vs. Guardians (Saturday)
The New York Yankees held off the pesky Cleveland Guardians in an 8-6 Game 5 victory. The Bronx Bombers will look to be the first team to punch their ticket to the World Series, while the Guardians will look to do what the New York Mets did yesterday and avoid elimination at home.
Read on for our top MLB player prop bets and picks for ALCS Game 5 on Saturday, October 19.
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Saturday’s Best MLB Player Prop Bets
(MLB player prop bet odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Giancarlo Stanton Over 0.5 RBIs (+140)
Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a subtle change in the lineup yesterday, dropping the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton to the No. 5 slot and moving Jazz Chisholm to cleanup, so as to keep the righty-lefty balance in the top five spots of the batting order. Though it seemed like a minor move at the time, it ended up paying huge dividends in the sixth inning, when Juan Soto walked, Aaron Judge singled, and Stanton hit a three-run home run after Chisholm bunted the two over to get them in scoring position.
Stanton became the second Yankees player (Reggie Jackson is the other) to hit four or more home runs in a postseason multiple times. He is now slashing .300/.400/.707 this postseason. And though he went 0-for-4 in Game 2 which was started by Tanner Bibee, the more that these batters get looks at the same pitchers and relievers, the more it tilts in their favor for success.
Stanton is also seeing the ball well, as he went 27 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout this postseason. But as he continues to hit behind Soto and Judge, there will always be plenty of RBI opportunities.
David Fry Over 0.5 total bases (-140)
Guardians Game 3 hero David Fry performed much better against southpaws than right-handed pitchers this season, which has us liking his chances for success against Carlos Rodon.
Fry slashed .287/.430/.566 against left-handed pitchers this season, and .248/.302/.374 against righties. He went 1-for-3 with a single in three at-bats against Rodon in Game 1, but should come up big for his team when it matters most.
Fry cut his strikeout rate by 19% from last year to this year, and slugs .590 against fastballs, which Rodon throws 49.4% of the time (he has also allowed a .514 slugging percentage against the fastball).
Rodon’s 25 whiffs induced were the most by a Yankees pitcher in a postseason start since 2008, but this start is on the road, and the Guardians hitters should have more confidence in their home ballpark than they did at Yankee Stadium.
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.