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 5. 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.
Yusei Kikuchi Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+100 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+196 – 0.5 units) vs. Pirates
Angels at Pirates – 6:40 pm ET
Kikuchi is coming off a six-K outing against the Phillies. The lefty should come into this one with some momentum, and he now gets to face a Pirates team with the highest strikeout rate (26.2%) and whiff percentage (28.9%) in baseball against lefties. I’m going with the Over on 5.5, but I’m also playing an alternate at 6.5.
Sonny Gray Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-117 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+180 – 0.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 8+ (+343 – 0.25 units) vs. Orioles
Red Sox at Orioles – 7:05 pm ET
This is another one in which I’m going to some alternates, but I’m actually being a little more aggressive here. Gray is averaging 7.4 strikeouts per game in his last seven starts against teams with bottom-10 strikeout rates. Well, Baltimore is 26th in the league in strikeout rate (23.7% vs. righties) this year, so I can see Gray thriving tonight.
Taj Bradley Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+113 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 8+ (+215 – 0.5 units) vs. White Sox
Twins at White Sox – 7:10 pm ET
Why not a third starter to attack with alternates? Bradley, who averaged 10.0 strikeouts per game in his previous two starts, gets to rock against a White Sox team that has a strikeout rate of 23.5% and whiff percentage of 27.3% against righties this season. There’s no reason he can’t make things happen with his high-level stuff.
Additional Picks
Anthony Molina Over 3.5 Strikeouts (+109) vs. Mets
Martin Perez Over 3.5 Strikeouts (+126) vs. Phillies
Dustin May Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+112) vs. Reds
Amed Rosario Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+122) vs. Padres
Connor Norby Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-136) vs. Cardinals
George Kirby Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+112) 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.
Joe Mack Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-146) vs. Cubs
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.80 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -505 — a +24.1% edge to the Over.
Graham Pauley Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-124) vs. Cubs
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.57 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -379 — a +23.8% edge to the Over.
Elias Diaz Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-109) vs. Rays
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.39 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -300 — a +22.9% edge to the Over.
