The Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone, with many teams identifying as buyers while several others waved the white flag. Read on for our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Wednesday based on the best MLB odds.
Justin Verlander was the biggest name to move at the trade deadline, and he goes back to a familiar setting after winning two World Series titles with the Houston Astros. Houston is now the odds-on favorite at +340 via DraftKings to represent the American League in the World Series. But what other key acquisitions will pay immediate dividends for their new teams?
Here are our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Wednesday (odds via our best MLB betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Wednesday's MLB schedule and odds
- Los Angeles Angels (+124) vs. Atlanta Braves (-148)
- Detroit Tigers (-122) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (+102)
- Milwaukee Brewers (-130) vs. Washington Nationals (+110)
- Cleveland Guardians (OFF) vs. Houston Astros
- San Diego Padres (-245) vs. Colorado Rockies (+200)
- Boston Red Sox (+110) vs. Seattle Mariners (-130)
- Philadelphia Phillies (-135) vs. Miami Marlins (+114)
- Tampa Bay Rays (-105) vs. New York Yankees (-115)
- Baltimore Orioles (+102) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (-122)
- Minnesota Twins (-130) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (+110)
- Cincinnati Reds (+114) vs. Chicago Cubs (-135)
- Chicago White Sox (+120) vs. Texas Rangers (-142)
- New York Mets (-192) vs. Kansas City Royals (+160)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (+154) vs. San Francisco Giants (-185)
- Oakland Athletics (+245) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (-305)
Wednesday's MLB best bets
- Player prop: Yusei Kikuchi Over 6.5 strikeouts (-126 via FanDuel) vs. Orioles ???
- Player prop: Fernando Tatis Jr. Over 3.5 hits/runs/RBIs (-115 via DraftKings) vs. Rockies ???
- Player prop: Shane McClanahan Under 2.5 earned runs (-180 via DraftKings) vs. Yankees ????
- Moneyline: Tigers (-120 via BetMGM) vs. Pirates ????
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Wednesday's MLB prop picks
Toronto Blue Jays southpaw Yusei Kikuchi is enjoying a nice bounce-back season, as his ERA is 1.33 runs lower, and his WHIP is 1.27 compared to 1.52 at the same time as last season (through 20 starts). Kikuchi pitched to a 3.10 ERA over his previous 11 starts and allowed two earned runs in his 16 innings. And after throwing a season-high 103 pitches in his last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he will likely be called upon for a similar number as the team used four relievers to mop up Hyun-jin Ryu's short outing in his season debut.
Kikuchi's curveball has been an outstanding weapon for the last three months, generating a 31.7% whiff percentage and 26.1% chase percentage since May. Kikuchi induced 16 whiffs in his previous start, and Thomas Hall documented how elite his slider and curveball were from a CSW% in the early innings.
This is a three-star play, especially since Kikuchi has the fourth-most strikeouts by a Blue Jays lefty through 21 games in franchise history, per StatsCentre.
FanDuel charges the least juice to back the Over, with odds as high as -140 at PointsBet.
The San Diego Padres are one of two teams on Wednesday's 15-game slate with moneyline odds steeper than -200, and combined with the projected 11.5-run total, it makes sense to back some Padres hitters. Given that Colorado Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland has a .303 OBA against right-handed hitters, and 15 of his 17 home runs allowed have come against righties, we have our eyes set on Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis is one of three Padres with a .297 batting average or better against left-handed pitching (min. 90 ABs), but he makes those hits count, leading the team with a .950 OPS in that split. He is slashing .333/.417/.667 in 21 career at-bats against Freeland, and with five of the seven hits going for extra bases, we may only need one hit from Tatis with runners on base to cash this exclusive wager at DraftKings.
The New York Yankees entered Tuesday ranked 23rd in OPS and 29th in batting average, so what did they do to improve that at the trade deadline? Absolutely nothing. To put into perspective how poorly they've hit, Gleyber Torres leads the team with a .255 batting average, while 10 other teams collectively top that. The Yankees are batting .231 as a team, and the previous time they finished last in the division in 1991, they hit .241.
Shane McClanahan is 0-2 with a 5.51 ERA in four starts at Yankee Stadium and has allowed a 1.204 OPS to Torres in 15 career at-bats. The problem is not many other Yankees are helping him out consistently, so we like McClanahan to match zeros with Gerrit Cole and improve upon his 6.00 ERA from July.
Making this wager at DraftKings saves bettors a few dollars, as the Under is even more juiced to -183 at Caesars and our other best sports betting apps.
Wednesday's MLB game picks
There is a chance Detroit Tigers southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez is distracted to start this game, as he was reportedly heavily coveted by the Los Angeles Dodgers via trade but invoked his no-trade clause to stay with the team. However, we can't ignore Rodriguez's 2.68 ERA in road games and 2.06 ERA in nine day games this season, so he is set up perfectly in this early afternoon tilt.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rank 24th in wRC+, 25th in OPS, and dead-last in ISO against left-handed pitchers in home games this season. Meanwhile, Detroit is an AL-Central best 17-19 in interleague games this season, and Pirates righty Osvaldo Bido has lasted more than four innings in just two of six starts this season. That is not good news for Pirates backers, as their relievers rank in the bottom 10 in ERA and have the fourth-worst FIP in the NL over the last two months.
BetMGM is one of two of our best sportsbooks (WynnBet is the other), at which one can find Detroit at lower than -122 odds.
MLB best bets made 8/2/2023 at 7:21 a.m. ET.
Here are our best MLB betting sites:
- Caesars Promo Code: SBRBONUSFULL | Read our Caesars Review
- BetMGM Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetMGM Review
- bet365 Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our bet365 Review
- BetRivers Promo Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetRivers Review
- FanDuel Promo Code | Read our FanDuel Review
- DraftKings Promo Code | Read our DraftKings Review
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- Best Sports Betting Sites | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)