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 26. 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!
Wednesday Player Prop Best Bets
Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Wednesday. 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.
Randy Vasquez Over 3.5 Strikeouts (+100) vs. Pirates
Pirates at Padres – 4:10 pm ET
Vasquez is not a high-strikeout pitcher, but he’s up against a Pirates team that has a strikeout rate of 23.7% and whiff percentage of 27.1% against righties. Pittsburgh has also been even worse over the last 10 games, as the team’s K rate is up at 27.7% against righties in that span. With that in mind, I think there’s a decent chance Vasquez misses some more bats than usual. Also, Vasquez has taken advantage of these opportunities this season. In seven starts against teams with bottom-10 strikeout rates, he’s averaging 4.4 strikeouts per game.
Bryan Woo Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+133) vs. Phillies
Phillies at Mariners – 4:10 pm ET
Woo comes into this start having recorded five strikeouts in three consecutive games, so it’s not like he’s regularly hitting the six-K mark. However, the Phillies have a strikeout rate of 22.1% against right-handed starters this year, and that makes them a bottom-15 team in baseball in that regard. Well, this season, Woo is averaging 6.6 strikeouts per game when pitching at home against bottom-15 teams in K rate. That said, I like him to handle his business this evening — and love that we’re getting plus-money odds.
Yordan Alvarez Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-132) & Alvarez To Homer (+318 – 0.25 units) vs. Yankees
Astros at Yankees – 7:05 pm ET
Alvarez has gone Over 1.5 HRR in five of his last six games, and he’s averaging an insane 2.7 HRR per game against righties this season. Well, in tonight’s meeting with the Yankees, he’ll be facing a green pitcher in Elmer Rodriguez. He’ll also be doing so with the short porch in right field. So, not only am I going to be playing Alvarez to go Over 1.5 HRR, I’m also putting a little something on him to homer. I’m expecting an extra-base hit, at the very least.
Additional Picks
Grayson Rodriguez Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+133) vs. Guardians
Dustin May Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-112 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+187 – 0.5 units) vs. Mets
Connor Prielipp Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+100 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+205 – 0.5 units) vs. Athletics
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.
Jacob Gonzalez Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-141) vs. Padres
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.86 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -544 — a +26.0% edge to the Over.
Travis d’Arnaud Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-109) vs. Guardians
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.50 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -349 — a +25.6% edge to the Over.
Mike Yastrzemski Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-126) vs. Dodgers
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.60 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -396 — a +24.1% edge to the Over.
