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 8. 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.
Gerrit Cole Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-120) vs. Braves
Braves at Yankees – 3:05 pm ET
After a slow start to the season, Cole is averaging 6.7 strikeouts per game over his last nine starts. He was a little shaky upon returning from his lengthy injury layoff, but he’s back to looking sharp for the Yankees. With that in mind, his total of 5.5 looks a little low today — even against a good Braves team.
Sandy Alcantara Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-108 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+190 – 0.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 8+ (+396 – 0.25 units) vs. Angels
Angels at Marlins – 4:10 pm ET
We haven’t seen Alcantara reach the six-K mark since July 17, but I love the matchup with the Angels today. Alcantara has had six starts this season in which he has had at least seven strikeouts, and I trust him to navigate a Los Angeles lineup with a strikeout rate of 24.9% against right-handed pitching.
Kyle Freeland Over 3.5 Strikeouts (-107 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 5+ (+217 – 0.5 units) vs. Cardinals
Rockies at Cardinals – 7:15 pm ET
Freeland has had at least four strikeouts in 15 of his last 20 starts. He’s in a really nice groove missing bats, so I’ll take my chances with him going Over a low total tonight. The Cardinals are extremely good about avoiding strikeouts, but Freeland has a chance to work deep into this game with it being in pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium. If he’s out there long enough, he should flirt with four or five Ks.
Additional Picks
Bubba Chandler Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-110) vs. Mets
Jacob deGrom Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+121) vs. Orioles
Gavin Williams Over 7.5 Strikeouts (-130) vs. White Sox
Kyle Tucker Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-118) vs. Diamondbacks
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.
Ali Sanchez Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+106) vs. Braves
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 1.32 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -273 — a +24.6% edge to the Over.
Taylor Trammell Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-129) vs. Padres
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.63 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -273 — a +24.0% edge to the Over.
Mike Yastrzemski Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-139) vs. Yankees
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.68 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -436 — a +23.2% edge to the Over.
