The first weekend of the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season is in the books. The season isn’t official until we get a larger sample size, new opponents, streaks, etc. The sample sizes are still a little small, but that’s OK. We have plenty to work with, and you have to strike while the iron is hot. Below are our top MLB player props for Monday, March 30th.
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Monday's Top MLB Player Props
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Joc Pederson 2+ Hits + Runs + RBIs (-140)
The Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles meet in Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the opener of a three-game set at 6:35 p.m. ET.
The probable starter for the Orioles is right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt. The current Rangers roster has a collective .308 batting average, .392 on-base percentage (OBP) and .992 OPS against him. However, many of the sample sizes aren’t very large.
Corey Seager is 3-for-11 (.273) against Bassitt with two doubles and three RBI, so he’s a hitter you might consider. But, a better value play is Joc Pederson. He is 5-for-10 (.500) against Bassitt, with a double, two homers, five RBI, two walks, a .583 OBP and 1.783 OPS.
It shouldn’t take much for Pederson to get across the finish line here. An RBI single gets the job done, or a hit and a run scored. If he handles the twig as he did in the past against Bassitt, this is a strong play.
Bryce Elder Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-128)
Braves righty Bryce Elder makes his season debut against the visiting Athletics, and it’s a perfect soft landing spot for his first outing of the season.
The Athletics have already struck out 50 times through just three games, hitting a collective .157 with just eight walks, four homers and 11 RBI. They posted just a .218 OBP and a .294 slugging rate. While there is obviously a ton of time to turn that around, a free-swinging team is a free-swinging team. That’s not going to change.
Elder is a strong option to get to at least five punchouts in this game, especially at home. He had 131 strikeouts across 156.2 innings last season. He should record at least five strikeouts with relative ease.
Luis Castillo Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-132)
The veteran Luis Castillo went 11-8 last season with a 3.54 ERA and 162 strikeouts across 180.2 innings in 32 starts. He has always been a high strikeout pitcher, and he’ll get a crack at a New York Yankees team that has managed 29 strikeouts across three games so far.
In 137 at-bats, this Yankees roster has 41 strikeouts and just a .212 batting average with a .294 OBS versus Castillo. Veteran Paul Goldschmidt has the biggest sample size, going for 12 strikeouts in 43 at-bats. Cody Bellinger has been punched out nine times by Castillo, while Ryan McMahon is 0-for-11 with four strikeouts. There are some dangerous players, like Aaron Judge, however.
If Castillo can avoid Judge and Amed Rosario, he is going to log plenty of whiffs.
Carlos Santana Over 0.5 Home Runs (+630)
Our longshot prop play of the day sends us to the Detroit Tigers-Arizona Diamondbacks matchup at 10:10 p.m. ET at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Veteran right-handed pitcher Justin Verlander is back for his second tour of duty with the Tigers. He spent 2005-2017 with the Tigers before a trade deadline deal sent him to Houston that summer. After stops with the Houston Astros, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, Verlander is back.
Verlander has faced the collective roster of the Diamondbacks for 186 at-bats, but nobody has faced him more than Carlos Santana. The veteran Santana faced Verlander many times when he was in Cleveland, and Verlander was in Detroit.
Santana is just 19-for-88 (.216) against Verlander, but those 19 hits include five doubles, nine home runs and 15 RBI. For the chance to multiply our wager by six, roll the dice on Santana.
