Best Bets on Today’s MLB Player Props Market
The 2023 MLB season is underway and VSiN has you covered with every way you can possibly bet on a baseball game. As always, Adam Burke will have daily best bets to give you some ideas of what to back when it comes to moneylines, run lines and totals. However, I’m tackling player props here, and I’m targeting Tylor Megill, Bo Bichette and Julio Urias on Thursday, May 18th. Keep reading to find out how I’m betting on each of them.
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MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on May 18
Here are our favorite MLB prop bets for Thursday, May 18th:
Tampa Bay Rays (-120, 9) at New York Mets
Before pitching 5.0 innings and giving up just one earned run against the Washington Nationals on Friday, May 12th, Megill had allowed at least three earned in four consecutive starts. Now, the righty has to go out and face the best team in baseball, so we’re betting that Megill will give up at least three runs again. And we’re somehow getting great odds to do it.
This season, Tampa Bay is first in the league in wRC+, ISO, OPS and SLG against right-handed pitching. And just ignoring the advanced stats for a second, the Rays are fourth in the league in batting average and first in runs scored against righties this year. With that in mind, this is a matchup that should be very kind to Tampa Bay.
Bet: Megill Over 2.5 Earned Runs Allowed (+125)
New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays (-145, 9)
Bo Bichette comes into this game after having reached at least two total bases in three of his last five games. The star shortstop now gets to face Nestor Cortes, and that has been a good matchup for him early in his career. Bichette is 5 for 10 with a double and a homer off the lefty, and it isn’t that surprising when you consider that the 25-year-old mashes against southpaws.
Cortes is also struggling coming into this game. The lefty has given up at least six earned runs in two of his last three starts, and his ERA is up at 5.53 on the season. With Cortes having not yet figured things out this season, I just love the idea of backing some Blue Jays to come through at the plate. And Bichette has the best shot at doing so.
Bet: Bichette Over 1.5 Total Bases (-115)
Los Angeles Dodgers (-150, 9) at St. Louis Cardinals
Julio Urias is 5-3 with a 3.61 ERA this season and he has been pitching very well recently. The lefty has allowed a total of five earned runs in his last 19.2 innings on the mound, and Los Angeles has come away with wins in all three of those starts. Now, we’re looking to Urias to go out and give the Cardinals some trouble.
We need six strikeouts to cash in at plus-money odds tonight, and that’s a mark that Urias has reached four times this season. St. Louis isn’t a team that strikes out at a high clip against lefties, but the Cardinals don’t face pitchers with Urias’ stuff often. The 26-year-old has never started a game against St. Louis either. So, these hitters won’t exactly know how to approach hitting him. That means that Urias can potentially rack up a bunch of strikeouts in his first time through the lineup, which would put this on a great pace.
Bet: Urias Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+125)
Did you know that you can parlay these three picks together at +846 odds? Try out our VSiN Parlay Calculator HERE!
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