3 Best MLB Player Prop Bets for Opening Day

The beauty of baseball is the wide variety of prop markets at your fingertips, from home runs to strikeouts and much more.

Utilizing our MLB projections as a guide, here are some MLB player props bets that look appealing via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Please note that betting lines and MLB player projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

Best MLB Player Props for Opening Day

Willy Adames to Record 2+ Bases (+130)

The San Francisco Giants get a big park factor boost to open the season as they're at Great American Ball Park to take on the Cincinnati Reds. They also get an Opening Day matchup with Hunter Greene, a hard-throwing righty who gives up a good amount of loud contact.

That puts me on Willy Adames to record at least two bases.

Greene, the owner of a 29.6% strikeout rate for his career, can miss bats. But when batters make contact, the ball usually travels as Greene permitted a 48.3% fly-ball rate last season. That's made his home digs a scary place for him as he's given up a .321 wOBA and 1.65 dingers per nine innings at home in his career, compared to a .295 wOBA and 0.95 homers per nine on the road.

Adames will likely hit second or third for the Giants, and he's coming off a season in which he popped a career-best 32 jacks with a .342 wOBA. He was actually much better against righties (.364 wOBA) than left-handers (.279 wOBA), and his career-high 49.8% fly-ball rate from last year should make him a difficult matchup for Greene.

Our MLB player projections are high on Adames today, ranking him as the third-best bat in MLB DFS. In addition to taking him to tally 2+ bases, I also like Adames' odds to hit a home run (+420).

Trea Turner to Record a Run (-115)

Despite two of the Philadelphia Phillies' best bats -- Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper -- being left-handed, the Phillies were super tough on southpaws in 2024, and they are a difficult Opening Day matchup for Washington Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore.

A year ago, the Phillies ranked third in wOBA against left-handers (.340), and with Trea Turner likely slotted second in the order, he's in a great spot to score a run with guys like Harper, Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos behind him.

It helps that Turner torched lefties last year to the tune of a .381 wOBA and 40.3% hard-hit rate, and he's also capable of swiping a bag and getting himself into scoring position (19 SBs in 2024).

Our model projects Turner for the fourth-most runs of the day (0.75), and I'm happy to back him at these -115 odds.

Paul Skenes Under 7.5 Strikeouts (-122)

A Paul Skenes under? Against the Miami Marlins?

Insert I'm in danger meme.

But I think eight-plus Ks is a little high for Opening Day.

The biggest reason I like the under is Skenes' pitch count. The Pittsburgh Pirates will likely be conservative with Skenes early in the season. A year ago, he tossed 84 pitches in his MLB debut. That might be a good baseline for his expected pitch count today. Or it might be even a bit high as Skenes threw only 51 pitches in his last spring training start.

If there's anyone who can get eight punchouts on 80 or fewer pitches, it's Skenes. After all, he fanned seven in that 84-pitch debut. But it's still a tall task even for someone of his caliber. And Miami wasn't a high-K team last season, sporting just the 14th-highest K rate (23.3%).

We project Skenes for 6.7 strikeouts today. As scary as it feels, I'm taking the under at a line of 7.5 Ks.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.