Player props have become one of baseball’s most entertaining ways to bet, offering value well beyond the moneyline, run line, or game total. Each day, this column highlights the best opportunities on the board — from strikeouts and hits to total bases and pitcher outs recorded — using matchup data, recent form, and betting trends to identify edges. Keep reading for the top MLB player prop picks for August 1. Also, make sure you check out our live VSiN programming for more. Our hosts and analysts will be all over the MLB, which is why it pays to be a VSiN Pro subscriber.
MORE: Check out the VSiN Pro Picks page for more bets from our talented hosts and analysts!
Saturday Player Prop Best Bets
Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Saturday. These are the ones that make the VSiN Pro Picks page and count towards my season-long record. I’ll write three up per day, but I’ll add additional ones in an “Additional Best Bets” section. I go lighter on baseball than I do other sports. My MLB units are 50% of what my normal units are.
Matt Olson Over 1.5 Total Bases (+100) vs. Nationals
Nationals at Braves – 7:15 pm ET
Olson has been a bet-on player against right-handed starters all year, averaging 2.0 total bases per game against them. That number also rises to 2.2 per game when he’s playing at Truist Park. Tonight, Olson has a good shot at making something happen against Miles Mikolas, who has a 5.72 ERA this year. Let’s just hope he sees some good pitches, as a multi-walk game is something that could derail this.
Amed Rosario Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+140) vs. Cubs
Yankees at Cubs – 7:15 pm ET
I had Rosario to go Over his 1.5 HRR number last night. That ended up cashing with the righty bat hitting a home run in the game. Well, I’m going right back to Rosario here, as he’ll be facing yet another lefty starter. He also happens to be facing one that has a 5.80 ERA, as David Peterson will be on the mound for Chicago.
Framber Valdez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-116 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+175 – 0.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+372 – 0.25 units) vs. Athletics
Tigers at Athletics – 9:40 pm ET
The last time Valdez faced the Athletics, he finished with nine strikeouts. Of course, that game was played in Detroit, which is much easier on pitchers than Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. However, I still like Valdez to have a decent strikeout performance in this one. The A’s have a strikeout rate of 24.7% against lefties this season. So, even if Valdez is hit around a bit, he could still flirt with seven Ks.
Additional Picks
Drew Rasmussen Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-125 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+158 – 0.5 units) vs. White Sox
JJ Wetherholt Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-104) vs. Blue Jays
Mickey Moniak Over 1.5 Total Bases (-110) vs. Royals
Rafael Devers Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-103) vs. Padres
Robert Gasser Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-137) vs. Angels
Noteworthy OptaAI Player Prop Edges
Check out the BRAND NEW OptaAI Player Props MLB pages for more of these! VSiN Pro subscribers can find 50+ player prop ideas on a daily basis! We’ll list the top edges in some of the biggest markets below, but there will always be a lot more to uncover on the pages themselves.
Travis d’Arnaud Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-128) vs. Brewers
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 1.70 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -446 — a +25.6% edge to the Over.
Esmerlyn Valdez Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+116) vs. Reds
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 2.53 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -255 — a +25.5% edge to the Over.
Rob Refsnyder Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-151) vs. Twins
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.81 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -510 — a +23.4% edge to the Over.
