MLB Player Props Today: 3 Best MLB Prop Bets for Thursday 5/21/26

Top MLB Player Props at a Glance

• Dustin May Over 4.5 Strikeouts
• Ben Rice 2+ Hits/Runs/RBI
• Eduardo Rodriguez Under 18.5 Outs

The beauty of baseball is the wide variety of prop markets at your fingertips each day -- from home runs to strikeouts to total bases and much more.

Here are some MLB player props that look appealing via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as well as our MLB projections.

MLB odds via FanDuel Sportsbook and may change throughout the day after this article is published. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

What are the top MLB home run picks for today?

MLB Player Prop Bets for Today

Dustin May Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-130)

Pirates vs. Cardinals, 1:16 p.m. ET

Dustin May to notch at least five Ks is my favorite player prop from the day games.

May has quietly been pretty darn solid for the St. Louis Cardinals, giving up two or fewer earned runs in five of his last seven starts. That hasn't always come with a lot of punchouts, though, as his K rate is just 17.1%.

A matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates can help. Pittsburgh's offense is much improved this year, but they bring some swing-and-miss to the table, posting the eighth-highest strikeout rate (23.2%).

May has been allowed to throw at least 90 pitches in six consecutive starts, and I like him to have an effective outings today, which should help him work deep into the game and give him more chances for Ks.

Ben Rice to Record 2+ Hits/Runs/RBI (-135)

Blue Jays vs. Yankees, 7:06 p.m. ET

Ben Rice is having a huge 2026 campaign, and I think the H/R/RBI market is selling him a little short today.

The Toronto Blue Jays are going with a bullpen game, with the expectation that it'll be righties Braydon Fisher and Spencer Miles early in the contest. That should be music to Rice's ears as Fisher and Miles have swinging-strike rates of just 10.8% and 9.4%, respectively.

Rice is absolutely elite versus RHPs, mashing his way to a .449 wOBA and 46.3% hard-hit rate in the split. He is also a monster at home, producing a .485 wOBA at Yankee Stadium.

Hitting in the heart of a potent New York lineup, Rice has a few viable paths to coming through in the H/R/RBI market, and this is my top prop of the slate.

Eduardo Rodriguez Under 18.5 Outs Recorded (-198)

Rockies vs. Diamondbacks, 9:41 p.m. ET

Veteran lefty Eduardo Rodriguez is having a poor season thus far, and I like the under today on his outs recorded prop.

Rodriguez is putting up career-worst numbers in a few categories, including SIERA (4.72), strikeout rate (17.5%) and swinging-strike rate (7.4%). E-Rod has recorded under 18.5 outs in five of his last seven starts. He's notched 16 or fewer outs in four of those outings.

The Colorado Rockies' offense isn't a pushover, ranking a respectable 21st in wOBA for the season as well as 20th in road wOBA. Plus, they just saw Rodriguez last week and got him out of the game in 5.1 frames. They can do something similar today in the desert.

MLB Prop Bets -- Frequently Asked Questions

What are MLB player prop bets?

MLB player prop bets are wagers on specific statistical outcomes tied to individual players during a game — not on which team wins or loses. You might bet on how many strikeouts a starting pitcher records, whether a shortstop gets a hit, or how many total bases an outfielder accumulates.

Because they are isolated to a single player's performance, props let you apply focused knowledge about matchups, recent form, and ballpark conditions rather than predicting the full game result.

What types of MLB player props are available?

FanDuel offers a wide menu of MLB props. The most common categories include:

• Pitcher strikeouts
• Batter hits
• Home runs
• Total bases
• RBIs
• Stolen bases
• Pitcher outs recorded

How do MLB player prop bet odds work?

MLB prop odds use the standard American (moneyline) format. A negative number shows how much you must wager to profit $100. A positive number shows how much a $100 bet returns in profit.

• -110 odds — bet $110 to win $100
• +130 odds — bet $100 to win $130
• -200 odds — bet $200 to win $100

What does "total bases" mean as a prop bet?

The total bases prop counts the bases a batter earns from hits in a single game:

• Single = 1 base
• Double = 2 bases
• Triple = 3 bases
• Home run = 4 bases

Walks, hit-by-pitches, and stolen bases do not count. A typical total bases line is set at 1.5 or 2.5. Betting over 1.5 means you need at least a double, or two singles.

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Which player props stand out to you today? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's MLB odds to see the full menu of options.

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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.