MLB Player Props & Bets: Saturday (5/24)
This week alone has seen some impressive player performances around Major League Baseball. Paul Skenes matched a season-high in strikeouts while completing his first career complete game, Merrill Kelly recorded his eighth career double-digit strikeout game and Salvador Perez moved into fifth place all-time among catchers in home runs.
What can we expect from this loaded 15-game MLB slate on Saturday?
Read on for our top MLB player prop bets for Saturday, May 24th.
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
Saturday's Best MLB Player Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Rafael Devers to Hit a Home Run (+370)
Rafael Devers entered the weekend tied for 21st in the Majors with 10 home runs, three of which came within the last five games. Devers has been on an absolute tear, with a 1.467 OPS over the last seven days entering Friday and a .413/.526/.804 slash line over the previous 15 days.
Devers is in the perfect hitting split to expect another home run today, as nine of his 10 home runs have come against right-handed pitchers. He faces Orioles righty Zach Eflin, against whom he has hit two home runs in 19 at-bats. Devers also owns a 1.263 OPS against Eflin, in large part because six of his seven career hits against him have gone for extra bases.
Eflin’s 1.9 HR/9 rate is on pace to be his worst in a season since he pitched to a 2.2 HR/9 rate with the Phillies in 2017.
Cody Bellinger Over 1.5 Total Bases (-125)
The Yankees are the highest-scoring team in the American League, so it should make sense why we are eager to have one of their batters as part of our player prop wagers when making a rare visit to Coors Field.
Cody Bellinger is very familiar with Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland from his days in the National League. Bellinger has slashed .344/.371/.594 against Freeland, with six of his 11 hits in 32 at-bats going for extra bases.
Entering Friday’s series opener against the Rockies, Bellinger’s 77 total bases ranked fourth on the team. But he had also had one extra-base hit in six of the previous eight games. His 1.413 OPS over the previous seven days suggests this is great value and a great pivot from the steep odds that teammate Aaron Judge will continue to have on all of his player props throughout the weekend.
Shane Baz to record 6+ Strikeouts (+130)
Tampa Bay Rays righty Shane Baz takes on a red-hot Blue Jays team coming off a home sweep of the Padres entering Friday’s series opener.
After Toronto scored 26.9% of its runs via homers in March and April, that number is closer to 50% in May. Given that Baz has allowed a 1.7 HR/9 rate so far this season, that is the biggest reason I decided not to back his under 2.5 earned runs allowed prop.
While Baz is the only Rays pitcher with a negative WAR, he also leads the team with 92 pitches per start, and his 8.8 K/9 rate is the highest among the team’s starters.
Toronto entered Friday with the sixth-lowest strikeout rate (19.6%) against right-handed pitching, but the fact Baz has thrown 96+ pitches in five of his nine starts this year raises the ceiling for his strikeout total. Consider this a contrarian play, since Baz has only recorded more than three strikeouts once in four May starts.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday:
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.