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 June 12. 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!
Friday Player Prop Best Bets
Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Friday. 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.
Sandy Alcantara Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+110 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+210 – 0.5 units) vs. Pirates
Marlins at Pirates – 6:40 pm ET
Alcantara isn’t the swing-and-miss pitcher he once was, but he’s averaging 4.6 strikeouts per game. He’s right there when it comes to tonight’s total, but the fact that it’s available at plus-money odds makes it seem like tremendous value. Alcantara has gone Over 4.5 strikeouts in five of his eight home starts, and he had seven Ks against the Rays on June 7. Well, with Alcantara carrying some momentum into this start, I see no reason he can’t have another productive day as a strikeout guy. The Pirates have a high strikeout rate (23.5%) and whiff percentage (26.9%). This is a good matchup for him to go out and show off his stuff.
Nick Lodolo Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-114) vs. Diamondbacks
Diamondbacks at Reds – 7:15 pm ET
I like backing talented pitchers coming off lengthy injuries. Sometimes it blows up in my face, sometimes it doesn’t. Well, I really like Lodolo to have five strikeouts against the Diamondbacks tonight. Arizona has done a good job of avoiding strikeouts this year, and that’s especially true against lefties. However, the Diamondbacks do chase pitches rather often, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before they start striking out a bit more. So, while this might seem like an awful matchup for Lodolo, I think he can figure it out. In a couple of months, we’ll likely be looking at totals of 6.5 or 7.5 for Lodolo. He’s that good when he’s healthy.
Nolan McLean Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-122) vs. Braves
Braves at Mets – 7:15 pm ET
McLean has only seven total strikeouts over his last two starts, but he has had at least six strikeouts in nine of his 13 outings this year. That said, while he hasn’t quite been himself recently, he’s way too talented to be sitting there at 5.5. That’s true no matter who he’s going up against. While the Braves are one of the best teams in baseball, we saw McLean strike out eight batters against the Dodgers on April 14. When he’s on, he can handle any matchup.
Additional Picks
Zack Littell Over 2.5 Earned Runs (-125) vs. Mariners
Shane Baz Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+140) vs. Padres
Jazz Chisholm Jr. Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+115) vs. Blue Jays
Roki Sasaki Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+102) vs. White Sox
Mike Trout Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+100) vs. Rays
Jeff McNeil Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-150) vs. Rockies
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.
Lane Thomas Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-139) vs. Astros
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 1.83 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -522 — a +25.8% edge to the Over.
Yohendrick Pinango Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-146) vs. Yankees
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.80 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -507 — a +24.2% edge to the Over.
Tatsuya Imai Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-114) vs. Royals
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him projected for 6.40 strikeouts, suggesting these odds should be -326 — a +23.3% edge to the Over.
