Twelve new series begin around Major League Baseball to kick off what should be an exciting weekend. Read on for our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Friday based on the best MLB odds.
The most high-profile matchup of the new series beginning Friday is a 2020 World Series rematch between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. Each team currently has a top-two record in their respective leagues, but that series opener should not overshadow the one between the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. They are two of the more surprising teams in baseball, and it is the only matchup between two teams at least 13 games over .500.
Here are our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Friday (odds via DraftKings and WynnBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Friday's MLB schedule and odds
(odd s via DraftKings)
- Cincinnati Reds (+145) vs. Chicago Cubs (-170)
- Chicago White Sox (-145) vs. Detroit Tigers (+125)
- Los Angeles Dodgers (-105) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (-115)
- San Diego Padres (-125) vs. New York Yankees (+105)
- Texas Rangers (+115) vs. Baltimore Orioles (-135)
- St. Louis Cardinals (+100) vs. Cleveland Guardians (-120)
- Philadelphia Phillies (+125) vs. Atlanta Braves (-145)
- San Francisco Giants (+110) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (-130)
- Toronto Blue Jays (-155) vs. Minnesota Twins (+135)
- Washington Nationals (+105) vs. Kansas City Royals (-125)
- New York Mets (-210) vs. Colorado Rockies (+180)
- Miami Marlins (+120) vs. Los Angeles Angels (-140)
- Boston Red Sox (-150) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (+130)
- Houston Astros (-260) vs. Oakland Athletics (+220)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (+130) vs. Seattle Mariners (-150)
Friday's MLB best bets
- Player prop: Kris Bryant Under 1.5 total bases (-135 via DraftKings) vs. Mets ????
- Player prop: Kevin Gausman Over 18.5 outs recorded (-110 via DraftKings) vs. Twins ???
- Player prop: George Kirby Over 5.5 strikeouts (-115 via DraftKings) vs. Pirates ????
- Upset: Marlins ML (+130 via WynnBet) vs. Angels ???
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Friday's MLB prop picks
Colorado Rockies outfielder Kris Bryant has a respectable .274 batting average but is slugging just .394, as 11 of his 48 hits have gone for extra bases. Bryant has especially struggled lately, with two hits in his last 20 at-bats and just one extra-base hit in that span, despite playing all those games in hitter-friendl y parks like Coors Field and Globe Life Field.
Now Bryant faces New York Mets ace Max Scherzer, against whom he is just 2-for-16 in his career. While Scherzer has struggled to a 4.01 ERA (he has not finished with an ERA north of 4.00 since 2011), this is still a four-star play, as 10 of Bryant's 14 outs against Scherzer have been strikeouts, which suggests he does not see the ball well out of the righty's hand.
DraftKings offers slightly better value for this wager, as Caesars is at -143 for the same prop.
The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen entered Thursday with the second-fewest innings pitched but could still use a rest after throwing seven different relievers in the Rays series for a combined 11 2/3 innings, which followed three other series against top-10 offenses in the league.
Kevin Gausman is just the guy to give the Blue Jays length, as he ranks in the top 10 in the majors with 63 innings pitched over 10 starts. In his last four starts against teams with a winning record, he has recorded 21-plus outs three times and has not allowed an earned run in two of his previous three road starts. He should find success against a Minnesota Twins lineup that entered Thursday ranked 17th in wRC+ and 26th in BABIP since May 1.
DraftKings is the only sportsbook offering plus-money odds for this prop, as Caesars is at -113 odds for Gausman to pitch more than six innings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rank in the bottom five of the league in strikeout percentage (24.5%) in May. In addition, six of their players with at least 100 plate appearances have struck out at least 19% of the time against right-handed pitching, which means Cy Young award candidate George Kirby should be in for a solid start.
Kirby ranks in the 34th percentile for strikeout r ate but ranks in the top quarter of the league in chase rate, and his whiff percentage is higher on all of his primary pitches, except for his changeup, from last year. This is a four-star play, as Kirby has recorded six-plus strikeouts in four of his previous five starts, despite making four of those starts on the road.
DraftKings is again our go-to sportsbook for this wager, as Caesars and FanDuel are at -121 and -122, respectively.
Friday's MLB game picks
No team in baseball has a longer active winning streak than the Los Angeles Angels at the moment (four straight wins). While they had a day off Thursday as the Miami Marlins wrapped up their series against the Rockies, perhaps an off-day is ill-timed, given how well they were playing. In addition, the Angels have lost both games when they have had a rest advantage against their opponents and are 6-13 in such games since 2021.
Angels southpaw Reid Detmers has made just one quality start among his eight outings, and he and Jose Suarez are the only starters in the rotation with a negative WAR. Los Angeles has lost three of Detmers' last four starts, and this is a fade of a team that is an uninspiring 11-9 as home favorites this season.
WynnBet is the only sportsbook offering better than +125 odds to back the underdogs.
MLB best bets made 5/26/2023 at 6:24 a.m. ET.
Here are our best MLB betting sites:
- FanDuel: $1,000 No Sweat First Bet | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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