MLB Player Props for Wednesday, May 22
The 2024 MLB season is in full swing and we continue to come at it from a bunch of different directions. This season, VSiN Managing Editor Adam Burke will have you covered when it comes to MLB sides and totals in his daily best bets column. You’ll also get some First Five Inning analysis from Jonathan Von Tobel. On top of that, our analytics guru Steve Makinen will feed you some interesting trends and systems on a daily basis. But I’ll be focusing specifically on MLB player props this season, dishing out at least three per day every Monday to Friday. With that in mind, let’s get into the plays for Wednesday, May 22nd.
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San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds – 6:40 pm ET
Michael King’s strikeout rate is down a little from last year, but 25.7% is still a pretty solid number. And King now gets one of the best matchups imaginable for a right-handed pitcher. The Reds aren’t quite as bad as the Seattle Mariners when it comes to making contact against right-handed pitching, but they do have the second-highest strikeout rate in the league (27.2%). And Cincinnati’s number would have been the highest in the league in any of the last three seasons. That said, this Reds team is a good one to fade when you have a good starter on the mound. And King might have gotten shelled against the Colorado Rockies in his last start, but he’s a guy with solid stuff and should be trusted to bounce back. After all, he pitched 7.0 shutout innings and struck out 11 batters against the Los Angeles Dodgers two starts ago. So, I’m not overthinking this. I’m going with King to reach the six-strikeout mark.
Pick: King Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-129)
San Francisco Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates – 6:40 pm ET
Blake Snell will be activated from the 15-day IL tonight. The lefty has struggled for San Francisco this season, as he is 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA. Snell should bounce back and find his groove eventually. Perhaps it’ll even be tonight. But I do like Bryan Reynolds to do some damage in this one, as the slugger is batting .317 with three homers and 11 RBIs against left-handed pitching this season. He should be able to make some things happen against Snell early in this game. And the beauty of Reynolds is that he is a switch hitter, so he still holds plenty of value late in games because he’s not dependent on certain matchups. That helps when the bullpen starts to see action. Reynolds has also gone Over 1.5 hits, runs and RBIs in four of his last five games. So, this feels like a good play in this game.
Pick: Reynolds Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-105 – 1.5 units)
Colorado Rockies at Oakland Athletics – 9:40 pm ET
Austin Gomber has a career-best 3.02 ERA as a starter for the Rockies this season. And the lefty is really taking advantage of his road starts, as he is 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA in four outings away from home thus far. Now, Gomber gets to pitch in one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks in the league, and he’s doing so against a miserable Oakland team. Only eight teams in the league have a lower wRC+ against left-handed pitching than the Athletics. And Oakland also comes into this game after having gone 2-8 in its last 10. All in all, this is a matchup in which Gomber can be trusted to pitch pretty well. And I like him to go at least 6.0 innings here, which he has done in each of his last four starts.
Pick: Gomber Over 17.5 Outs Recorded (-108 – 1.5 units)
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