MLB Player Props & Bets: Monday (5/18)
The 2026 Major League Baseball season continues on Monday with 14 games on the schedule. That includes a nationally-televised American League Central battle at Comerica Park between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers at 6:40 p.m. ET on FS1. Below are our top MLB player props for Monday, May 18th.
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Monday's Top MLB Player Props
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Yandy Diaz 2+ Hits + Runs + RBIs (-160)
The Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on Monday night, and the Orioles roll out lefty Trevor Rogers (2-4, 5.77 ERA, 1.54 WHIP). That’s great news for Tampa Bay’s offense, particularly Yandy Diaz.
The designated hitter enters this game hitting safely in four straight games, going 5-for-16 (.313) with two homers and four RBI during that span. The 34-year-old is hitting .293 (12-for-41) against lefties this season, with a .463 slugging rate. In addition, albeit not a big sample size, he is 4-for-7 (.571) with two doubles and a walk with a 1.482 OPS in his career against Rogers.
Framber Valdez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-128)
The Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers meet on FS1 at 6:40 p.m. ET in the opener of a four-game set between these American League Central Division rivals. The Tigers will have lefty Framber Valdez going in the series opener, and that’s bad news for Cleveland.
Valdez has faced the Guardians five times in his career, including four starts. He has a perfect 5-0 record against Cleveland, each coming as a member of the Houston Astros. He hasn’t faced the Guardians since August 1st, 2023, but on that day at Daikin Park in Houston, Valdez allowed just one walk with seven strikeouts in a 93-pitch no-hitter.
Fast forward to this season, and Valdez has recorded at least seven strikeouts in three of his past five outings. Let’s go high on his strikeout total on Monday night. And, if you’re really adventurous, you can go with his alt strikeout total of six or more at +174 odds for an added bonus.
Mark Vientos to Record an RBI (+105)
Let’s keep it simple, as the New York Mets open a series in the nation’s capital against the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals roll out righty Jake Irvin (1-4, 5.91 ERA, 1.45 WHIP), so that should immediately get you looking at the batter props for the visitors. Irvin hasn’t had a lot of success against the likes of Juan Soto in his career, so that’s one option to consider.
We’ll go with Vientos to drive in at least one run on Monday, however. He has really started to pick up the pace lately, collecting 10 hits across his past nine games, including two doubles and two homers, while driving in eight runs in the nine-game span.
Vientos is just 2-for-17 (.118) in his career against Irvin, so that could give bettors some pause. However, one of those hits left the yard.
MacKenzie Gore Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-168)
The Colorado Rockies have struck out 441 times through 47 games - 9.38 times per game. Gore heads into the series opener at Coors Field with 53 punchouts across 25.2 innings this season. The question isn’t whether or not he’ll have a high rate of strikeouts to innings pitched, but if he can stick around in the rarefied air.
Gore has allowed six homers this season, but five of those are clustered in two starts back in April. As long as Gore can hang around, he’ll get those strikeouts. Last time out against another National League West team, albeit at home in Arlington, Gore went eight strong with one run, three hits and five strikeouts. He leveled his record to 3-3 and lowered his ERA to 4.50 in the process.