MLB Betting: 3 Best Player Prop Bets for Wednesday 7/31/24

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 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.

MLB Player Props

Yainer Diaz to Record 2+ Total Bases (-110)

The Houston Astros' Yainer Diazhas been excellent at the plate over the last two months. After hitting an absurd .363 in June, Diaz is slashing .330/.350/.495 in July.

The 25-year-old catcher is riding a 6-game hitting streak while racking up 12 hits in his previous 24 at-bats (.500). Reaching at least two bases has been a cakewalk during the stretch as he's done so in all six contests.

Diaz will face the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jake Woodford, who has a 10.80 ERA, 5.60 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA), and 6.16 xFIP -- yikes.

This is about as perfect as it gets for Diaz. He hits .300 versus righties compared to .282 against lefties. It's more of the same when Diaz is at home, holding a .319/.342/.489 slash line compared to .269/.294/.390 in away contests.

Woodford's most-used pitches are his sinker (32.9%), sweeper (29.5%), and cutter (26.6%), per Baseball Savant. Diaz hits .364 against sinkers and .333 when facing sweepers.

There's little reason to shy away from Diaz to reach at least two bases yet again.

Taylor Ward to Record an RBI (+140)

Taylor Ward has been a walking RBI over his last four contests with nine ribbies, yet he's still +140 to bat in another run. On the surface, this looks like a no-brainer, but let's take a deeper dive.

First off, the matchup with the Colorado Rockies' pitcher is a good one as the Rockies have the highest marks in xFIP and SIERA. Colorado is rarely putting a solid pitcher on the mound, and Kyle Freeland is no exception.

The starting hurler touts a 4.47 SIERA and 4.34 xFIP and gave up six earned runs in his most recent outing.

When it comes to Ward's success, he's hitting .308 against sinkers -- Freeland's most-used pitch. Most importantly, Ward's numbers go from below average against righties (.204/.294.274) to exceptional when facing lefties (.338/.385/.521).

Los Angeles has a .249 batting average and .308 wOBA when facing lefties compared to .233 and .299 against right-handers. Not only does Ward excel against southpaws, he could have more runners in scoring position with the Halos hitting well against lefties, as well.

Colorado's pitching struggles are the elephant in the room, and Freeland carrying weak stats as a lefty only helps Ward's chances of recording yet another ribby.

Logan Webb Over 5.5 Strikeouts (-136)

It's been a rough month for Logan Webb with a 6.65 ERA over his previous four outings, but he's still managed to finish at least the fifth inning in all appearances in July. With this in mind, Webb is still more than capable of delivering on his strikeout prop.

The Oakland Athletics are also a favorable matchup with the 11th-fewest runs scored while being tied for the 5th-lowest batting average. Webb's changeup and sweeper could be particularly useful for this matchup, for the A's have the 10th-fewest runs above average against changeups and the 13th-lowest mark when facing sweepers.

There's an opportunity for Webb to get back to deep starts, making over 19.5 recorded outs (-113) an intriguing bet.

A deep start certainly helps Webb reach a higher strikeout total, and the evidence doesn't stop here. He's averaging 6.0 Ks per game over his last two meetings with Oakland.

Among his three most-used pitches, Webb's changeup and sweeper hold his highest whiff rates, and the sweeper has his highest strikeout rate (K%).

The Athletics have also reached double-digit strikeouts in two of their last three contests. Webb seems bound for at least six Ks in tonight's start.

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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.