Another profitable 2-1 day on Tuesday with our first edition of the MLB player prop wagers for this week got the momentum going. With Thursday being such a popular getaway day and having just six games on the MLB slate, we have narrowed today’s wagers down to our most confident two bets, one on a pitcher and another on a batter.
Read on for our top MLB player prop bets for Thursday, May 15.
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Thursday's Best MLB Player Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Matt Olson Over 0.5 RBIs (+135)
Matt Olson is 2-for-8 with a home run and four RBIs in a small sample size against Nationals righty Trevor Williams. And given Williams’ egregious splits against left-handed and right-handed batters, this RBI prop for Olson has great value.
Williams has allowed a .396/.435/.625 slash line to opposing left-handed batters, while righties are collectively slashing just .205/.247/.493 against him. Williams also for four or more earned runs in three consecutive starts, and has allowed at least three earned runs in six of eight starts this season.
Olson entered Wednesday with just one RBI in the last five games, but his .807 OPS despite a .229 batting average over the last 30 days suggests he can still do plenty of damage when he does get the bat on the ball.
The Under is 6-1 in the last six games between these teams at Truist Park, but I still have confidence in Olson driving in a run even if this is another low-scoring affair.
Hunter Brown Under 1.5 earned runs (+105)
Hunter Brown did not enter the season as the top Cy Young Award candidate on his own team (Framber Valdez had shorter odds), but what he has done so far has him on a list of early season contenders for the hardware in the American League.
Brown entered the week tied for the MLB lead with six wins (for those who still care about that statistic). He was also tied for the lead in quality starts (seven), and led the majors in FIP (1.86). To top it off, his 1.48 ERA and .180 OBA both ranked third in the AL.
Because Brown leads all American League pitchers in bWAR (2.1), I expect him to pitch even better against Texas this time around after accumulating a 3.09 career ERA in six career starts against his division rival.
Two Rangers hitters in particular, Marcus Semien and Adolis Garcia, have done much of the damage against Brown, going a combined 15-for-30. But he has limited the pair to just two extra-base hits between them, which doesn’t make Brown’s .350/.417/.503 slash line against current Rangers hitters look as worrisome.
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.