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 September 3. 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!
Thursday Player Prop Best Bets
Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Thursday. 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.
Jake Bennett Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-135 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+154 – 0.5 units) vs. Orioles
Red Sox at Orioles – 7:15 pm ET
Bennett only had four strikeouts in his first start against Baltimore this season, but there’s a good chance he tops that number tonight. This season, the Orioles have a strikeout rate of 25.8% and whiff percentage of 27.7% against lefties. Those are some of the worst marks in baseball. Bennett also happens to be averaging 6.4 strikeouts per game when facing bottom-10 strikeout rate teams on the road.
Christian Yelich Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+103) vs. Cubs
Brewers at Cubs – 7:15 pm ET
Kevin Gausman has had a pretty rough season, and the move to Chicago hasn’t done him any favors. With that in mind, I’m looking to play one of the Brewers hitters tonight, and Yelich is the guy. Yelich has gone Over 1.5 HRR in 10 of his last 13 games, and he’s averaging 2.0 HRR per game against righties this season. So, even with Yelich having struggled a bit against Gausman in the past, there’s a real chance he delivers this evening.
Kade Anderson Over 15.5 Outs Recorded (-107) vs. Athletics
Athletics at Mariners – 9:40 pm ET
The Athletics are just 22nd in MLB in wRC+ (95) this season. This is a lineup that Anderson should be able to navigate. Sure, he only recorded 13 outs in his most recent trip to the mound, but that was against a tough Blue Jays lineup. The lefty also happened to have 17 outs against the Cubs in his previous outing.
Additional Picks
Blake Tidwell Over 4.5 Strikeouts (+118) vs. Pirates
Jose Soriano Over 3.5 Strikeouts (-143) vs. Guardians
Hunter Brown Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+118) vs. White Sox
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.
Joshua Baez Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-116) vs. Dodgers
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.50 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -349 — a +24.0% edge to the Over.
Danny Jansen Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-126) vs. Rays
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.51 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -352 — a +22.1% edge to the Over.
Lamonte Wade Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-145) vs. White Sox
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.63 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -409 — a +21.2% edge to the Over.
