MLB Predictions & Player Props Today: Friday's Best Baseball Prop Bets

The Major League Baseball season resumes now that the All-Star Break festivities are behind us, and we have identified our best MLB player props for Friday based on the best sports betting sites.

All but two teams (the Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins) are in action on a loaded 14-game MLB slate. Just two of the games are interleague matchups, but they are also two of the four games on the day's slate between teams with winning records.

First, the Cleveland Guardians host the San Diego Padres at 7:10 p.m. ET from Progressive Field, while the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the red-hot Boston Red Sox (Boston closed the first half with an MLB-best 10-3 record over the last 13 games) with first pitch scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET from Dodger Stadium.

Today's MLB predictions

MLB picks based on odds via our best MLB betting sites; pick confide nce based on a 1-to-5-star scale.

• Jonathan India Over 0.5 runs (-115 via bet365) ????
• Gerrit Cole Over 6.5 strikeouts (-150 via FanDuel) ???
• Manny Machado Under 1.5 total bases (-165 via bet365) ???
• Michael Wacha to record a win (+130 via bet365) ????

MLB player props for Friday

Best odds: -115 via bet365 | Implied probability: 53.49%

Reds leadoff hitter India likely thinks the All-Star Break came at the wrong time, as he was slashing .417/.563/.833 with four runs scored in the four games before the pause. Over the last 30 days, he recorded a 1.133 OPS, largely because he batted a whopping .380 with a .454 on-base percentage in June. 

I expect India to continue to be an outstanding table-setter for the Reds lineup on Friday, as his batting average and on-base percentage are 45 and 52 points better against southpaws than right-handed pitchers. That bodes well for his chances of scoring a run for the fifth time in the last six games when facing Patrick Corbin, who ranks in the lowest percentile of all qualified pitchers in xBA (.316) and xERA (6.29). 

India's -115 odds at bet365 to score a run are a steal compared to the -155 a t FanDuel, as we are getting a 53.49% implied probability and a payout of $18.70 on a winning $10 wager compared to a $16.45 payout at FanDuel.

Game info: Reds vs. Nationals | Moneyline: Reds (-120 via bet365) | Total: 9.0 via bet365 | Start time: 6:45 p.m. ET

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Best odds: -150 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 60.00%

Yankees ace Cole makes his sixth start of the season, and his fifth against a division rival, when he faces the Rays on Friday. Cole may be just 4-7 in 19 career starts against Tampa Bay, but he went 2-0 against the Rays in four starts last year and has held current Rays hitters to a combined .213/.265/.322 slash line in 169 at-bats, with a 30.8% strikeout rate. 

While other pitchers struggle on extended rest, Cole's 10.4 K/9 rate on six days' rest aligns with his career 10.1 and 10.8 K/9 averages on four and five days' rest. He has recorded seven or more strikeouts in back-to-back starts and should at least reach that plateau again when facing a Rays lineup that strikes out at the seventh-highest rate in the majors (24.0%).

We do not mind paying the steep price at FanDuel, considering the i mplied probability for Cole to throw seven-plus strikeouts is as high as 62.26% at bet365, but we are getting a better payout ($16.67 compared to $16.06) at FanDuel than bet365.

Game info: Rays vs. Yankees | Moneyline: Yankees (-170 via bet365) | Total: 8.0 via bet365 | Start time: 7:05 p.m. ET

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Best odds: -165 via bet365 | Implied probability: 62.26%

Machado has the most at-bats (259, at least 22 more than all but one teammate) of any Padres hitter against right-handed pitchers, yet ranks fourth in total bases (110) in that split. The task does not get any easier Friday when facing Guardians righty Tanner Bibee, who has held opposing righties to a .182 OBA and .308 slugging. Bibee pitched to a 2.86 ERA and .208 OBA in five June starts, and despite his ERA swelling to 6.17 in July, he has averaged fewer than one hit allowed per inning. 

Machado had just one multi-hit game and two extra-base hits in the seven games before the All-Star Break, which makes the 62.26% implied probability seem low in comparison. A winning $10 wager at these -165 odds would pay $16.06.

Game info: Padres vs. Guardians | Moneyline: Guardians (-135 via bet365) | Total: 7.5 via bet365 | Start time: 7:10 p.m. ET

Best odds: +130 via bet365 | Implied probability: 43.48%

The Royals hand the ball to Wacha to begin the second half of the season, and the team is looking for their fourth consecutive win when he toes the rubber. In that span, Kansas City has beaten three teams that are .500 or better (St. Louis Cardinals, Rays, Guardians), while two of those would be playoff teams if the postseason began today. In that span, Wacha has averaged more than a strikeout per inning, and he has allowed one or fewer earned runs in three of his previous four starts after entering June with a 4.24 ERA.

Compared to his difficult schedule lately, facing a White Sox lineup that ranks dead-last in the majors in every slash line category (.218 batting average, .279 on-base percentage, .344 slugging) should seem like a walk in the park. Thus, a 43.48% implied probability (a $10 winning wager would pay $23) is great val ue when facing a team with a poor .276 winning percentage.

Game info: White Sox vs. Royals | Moneyline: Royals (-210 via bet365) | Total: 8.5 via bet365 | Start time: 8:10 p.m. ET

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