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 May 9. 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. On Saturdays and Sundays, I’m going to keep these much shorter to cut down on my workload a little.
Clay Holmes Over 3.5 Strikeouts (+104 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 5+ (+285 – 0.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+456 – 0.25 units)
Mets at Diamondbacks – 7:15 pm ET
Holmes doesn’t have the filthiest stuff in the world, but he has recorded at least four strikeouts in five of his seven starts this season. The righty has also racked up six strikeouts in back-to-back outings. Well, the Diamondbacks don’t have a very high strikeout rate this season, but something tells me they’re going to begin struggling there soon. This team has a high chase percentage against righties (33.6%) and a high whiff percentage (25.6%) as well. Also, Holmes has been good at getting hitters to chase this season.
Landen Roupp Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-113) vs. Pirates
Pirates at Giants – 9:05 pm ET
The Pirates are one of my favorite teams to watch this season, and this is a team that legitimately looks like it has a shot at making the postseason. However, it’s hard not to view this as a positive matchup for Roupp — at least when it comes to strikeouts. Pittsburgh’s 23.5% strikeout rate this season is tied for the seventh highest in MLB. That said, I like Roupp to miss a ton of bats here.
Spencer Strider Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+100 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 7+ (+195 – 0.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 8+ (+360 – 0.25 units) vs. Dodgers
Braves at Dodgers – 9:10 pm ET
Going from a start against the Rockies to an outing against the champs will be a difficult transition, especially with Strider having given up three earned and walked five batters in just 3.1 innings in Colorado on Sunday. However, the most important number for me in that start was 87, which was the number of pitches the righty threw. If we’re getting anything close to a full workload from Strider, how can you not get somewhat aggressive with his strikeout numbers? He has some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in baseball.
Additional Picks
Coming soon.
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.
Spencer Strider Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-109) vs. Dodgers
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 8.52 strikeouts, suggesting these odds should be -576 — a +33.1% edge to the Over.
Brice Matthews Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-141) vs. Reds
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.83 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -526 — a +25.5% edge to the Over.
Zack Littell Over 3.5 Strikeouts (+125) vs. Marlins
Our OptaAI player prop projections have him projected for 4.62 strikeouts, suggesting these odds should be -210 — a +23.3% edge to the Over.
