Top 3 MLB Player Prop Bets & Picks: Saturday (5/17)
Rivalry weekend continues on Saturday around Major League Baseball with many crosstown and in-state rivals pitted against one another. Yesterday saw Juan Soto reach base three times in his return to Yankee Stadium and Chris Sale earn the win at his old Fenway Park stomping grounds, but what will today bring?
Read on for our top MLB player prop bets for Saturday, May 17th.
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Saturday's Best MLB Player Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
CJ Abrams Over 2.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (+105)
Washington Nationals slugger CJ Abrams has been red-hot in May. He entered the weekend series against the Orioles batting .364 with a .999 OPS in 14 games this month.
Abrams and the Nationals face Baltimore righty Kyle Gibson and his 13.11 ERA. Gibson has not recorded more than 12 outs in a game this season, and has been burned by seven home runs in his 11.2 innings of work. His slash line allowed to opposing left-handed hitters is eye-popping, as lefties have slashed .480/.536/1.040 against him this year. Abrams could exceed this total with just one swing of the bat.
Pablo Lopez Under 1.5 Earned Runs Allowed (+105)
The Minnesota Twins entered yesterday’s series opener with 11 straight wins. Minnesota’s offense averaged 5.3 runs per game, batted .253 and swatted 16 home runs, while its starting pitchers pitched to a 3.41 ERA and its bullpen pitched to a 0.92 ERA in that span.
I wanted to back Pablo Lopez to record a win in this start, but was scared off when Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa both left Thursday’s game and entered the concussion protocol after colliding on a pop-up. However, I still expect Lopez to rebound from his worst start of the season his last time out, the only one in which he allowed more than two earned runs.
Lopez should pitch just fine against a Brewers offense that entered the weekend slashing just .233/..312/.343 and ranking 23rd in batting average on ball in play (BABIP) and 26th in wRC+ over the previous 30 days.
Shohei Ohtani Over 1.5 Total Bases (-135)
Shohei Ohtani put on a show in Thursday’s series finale against the Athletics. On his bobblehead night, Ohtani turned in his third career game of six or more RBI, and his three home runs in a two-game span tied him with Kyle Schwarber and Aaron Judge for the MLB lead (15).
Ohtani entered yesterday’s series opener with the Angels on a 12-game on-base streak, during which he batted .388 while belting eight home runs, driving in 18 runs, scoring 16 runs and amassing an OPS of 1.475. Ohtani also had 13 extra-base hits overall during that span, so I am going with the safest play and backing the over on his total bases once again.
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.