MLB picks today: Best player prop bets for Monday, May 8

It's a meatier Monday slate than usual around MLB, with 11 games on the docket. That means plenty of potential prop bets, and we've laid out three of our favorites below – featuring a reigning MVP a possible Cy Young winner. If you're looking to profit during today's MLB action, you've come to the right place.

MLB player prop bets: Monday, May 8

McClanahan has established himself as a legitimate AL Cy Young contender so far this season, with a 2.03 ERA and a K rate that Statcast ranks in the 89th percentile in all of baseball – but I'm still fading him in this spot, at least at this number.

For starters, the lefty has only cracked seven strikeouts three times in his first seven starts, so it's not like this is a gimme even under ideal circumstances. Secondly, these are far from ideal circumstances: He'll be going up against a Baltimore Orioles lineup that has worn out left-handed pitching, with an .815 OPS and 19.9% strikeout rate that are each the fourth-best in MLB. Add to that the fact that McClanahan's K/9 drops substantially away from home (13.3 vs. 9.0), and the under is the smart play.

Goldschmidt seems to have taken it upon himself to singlehandedly drag the St. Louis Cardinals out of their early-season doldrums – with three more homers on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers, the reigning NL MVP is now slugging a whopping .763 over the last two weeks, with 13 extra-base hits. And given that he's crushed Chicago Cubs starter Marcus Stroman to the tune of a .444 average and five extra-base hits in 18 career at-bats, that hot streak looks likely to continue on Monday.

Sandoval has completed six innings just twice in six starts this season, which suggests that this is a pretty aggressive number. That's likely due to the fact that he's facing the Houston Astros, an offense that's uncharacteristically slumping amid injuries to Michael Brantley, Jose Altuve and Chas McCormick. But McCormick will be coming off the IL on Monday, and Houston has performed far better against lefties than righties so far – with an OPS nearly 100 points higher (.741 vs. .655) and a 16.2% strikeout rate that's second-lowest in baseball.

Most importantly, though, Sandoval's track record against the Astros is dismal. The Los Angeles Angels southpaw has made eight appearances (seven starts) against Houston in his career, and he's got a 8.03 ERA to show for it – while never making it through six innings, and only completing five innings a single time.

  
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