MLB Betting: 3 Best Player Prop Bets for Thursday 8/15/24

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.

Utilizing our MLB projections -- which are powered by numberFire -- 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 projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.

Best MLB Player Props Today

Rafeal Devers to Record 2+ Total Bases (-105)

When Rafael Devers faces off with an exploitable right-handed pitcher, he's usually going to be someone I'm looking to target for player props.

The left-handed Devers has mashed righties this season, putting up a .436 wOBA, 181 wRC+, and 1.075 OPS in the split while striking out just 18% of the time. His OPS dips to .769 and his K% jumps to 32.3% against lefties, so this is the clear split to feature him.

In general, Devers has put together a stellar season for the Boston Red Sox. Per Statcast, the third baseman sits in the 95th percentile in xwOBA (.385), 96th percentile in xSLG (.558), and 90th percentile in barrel rate (14.2%).

With Zach Eflin on the bump for the Baltimore Orioles, this is a nice spot to target Rafeal Devers to record 2+ total bases at -110 odds.

Eflin has allowed just five runs over 19 1/3 innings since being traded to Baltimore but has ceded 19 hits, including four extra-base hits, in that stretch. His season-long ERA is still only 3.83 while his fly-ball rate (37.9%) and WHIP (1.15) are up a bit compared to the previous two seasons.

While Eflin has gotten better results against lefties compared to righties, a 3.97 xFIP versus southpaws isn't anything we should shy away from.

That's especially true given how handily Devers has owned this induvial matchup. It's a small sample, but in 13 career at-bats against Eflin, Devers has two home runs, three doubles, and a 1.615 OPS.

I like Devers to continue dominating Eflin and to record at least a pair of total bases tonight.

Kyle Schwarber to Record 2+ Total Bases (+135)

To say Kyle Schwarber is great against lefties would be an understatement.

Kyle Schwarber has been incredible against left-handed pitchers.

For the season, the Philadelphia Phillies' slugger has posted a .435 wOBA, 183 wRC+, and 1.007 OPS in same-handed matchups. He's backed that up with a 90th-percentile barrel rate (14.1%) and 98th-percentile hard-hit rate (55.2%) overall, and he's been red-hot of late. Over his last 100 plate appearances, Schwarber's rolling xwOBA is up to .455, according to Statcast.

With Schwarber matched up with lefty Mitchell Parker, I'm looking for Schwarber to record 2+ total bases at +135 odds.

The young Washington Nationals hurler hasn't been bad in his rookie season, but lackluster ERA indicators (4.50 xERA; 4.21 xFIP; 4.32 SIERA) suggest he's pitched worse than his 3.83 ERA indicates. Parker's quality-of-contact metrics (40.6% fly-ball rate; 8.1% barrel rate; 39.6% hard-hit rate) are less than ideal, and he's generating a meh 9.6% swinging-strike rate.

In a soft matchup in his preferred split, Schwarber is in a nice spot to rack up multiple bases tonight.

Royce Lewis to Record an RBI (+150)

The Minnesota Twins have a relatively mild 4.08 implied total, but that shouldn't stop Royce Lewis from having a productive day at the dish.

Royce has been sensational when active this season. Though he doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaderboards, his .375 xwOBA, .554 xSLG, and 14.5% barrel rate are all strong marks. That's helped propel him to a .987 OPS on the year.

Lewis has been even better against lefties, against whom his OPS jumps to 1.009. He also has a .404 wOBA and 172 wRC+ in that split, mirroring Minnesota's strong team results versus southpaws.

The Twins rank in the top 10 in wOBA and wRC+ against left-handed pitchers, putting Lewis in prime position to drive in a run against southpaw Cody Bradford of the Texas Rangers.

Despite some encouraging early-season outings, Bradford hasn't been great since returning from the injured list. He's surrendered nine runs over his last three outings, pitching to a 4.77 FIP in that time.

Bradford hasn't pitched more than five innings since his July 30th activation, but the Rangers' bullpen isn't one to fear. Texas' relievers rank 23rd in xFIP (4.28) and 27th in WHIP (1.39) on the year.

That puts Royce in a lovely spot to drive in a run -- something he's done in 22 of 42 games this season.

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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.