Nine new series and a makeup of a postponed game from mid-April comprise Monday's 10-contest Major League Baseball slate. Read on for our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Monday based on the leading MLB odds from our best sports betting apps.
Half of Monday's 10 games are between teams with winning records, and most fans and bettors will be glued to the two with the most impact on division races. The top two teams in the AL West (Texas Rangers and Houston Astros) and NL Central (Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds) face off, entering the day with three games or fewer separating them in those races.
Here are our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Monday (odds via DraftKings, PointsBet, and BetRivers; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our World Series odds.
Monday's MLB schedule and odds
- San Francisco Giants (+115) vs. Detroit Tigers (-135)
- Baltimore Orioles (+110) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (-130)
- Colorado Rockies (+110) vs. Washington Nationals (-130)
- Kansas City Royals (+165) vs. Cleveland Guardians (-195)
- Seattle Mariners (-115) vs. Minnesota Twins (-105)
- Texas Rangers (-115) vs. Houston Astros (-105)
- Cincinnati Reds (-105) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (-115)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (+210) vs. San Diego Padres (-250)
- St. Louis Cardinals (OFF) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
- Toronto Blue Jays (+110) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (-130)
Monday's MLB best bets
- Player Prop: Tarik Skubal Under 1.5 earned runs allowed (+135 via DraftKings) vs. Giants ????
- Player Prop: Luis Castillo Under 6.5 strikeouts (+130 via DraftKings) vs. Twins ???
- Player Prop: Brandon Belt Over 0.5 RBIs (+175 via PointsBet) vs. Dodgers ???
- Total: Royals-Guardians Under 8.5 (-104 via BetRivers) ????
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Monday's MLB prop picks
The San Francisco Giants have been awful against left-handed pitching in July, ranking 26th or worse in wRC+, OPS, wOBA, and batting average in that span. They've faced Rich Hill, Andrew Abbott, and MacKenzie Gore since the All-Star break, and all three southpaws produced quality starts. The Giants combined for five hits and a 14:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 13 innings against the latter two starting pitchers.
Now the Giants face Tarik Skubal, who has thrown eight scoreless innings in his two home appearances of 2023 while allowing a .080 o pponents' batting average. This is a four-star play, as the Giants have matched their longest losing streak of the season (five games) while getting outscored by 21 runs during that span. They now face the unenviable task of playing in their third different city in the last eight days.
Caesars also offers plus-money odds for this play, but that book is slightly lower than DraftKings at +123.
The Minnesota Twins have struck out at an MLB-worst 27% clip over the last 14 days, a run that includes Luis Castillo's 11-strikeout performance this past Wednesday. However, facing Castillo twice over such a short span should favor the hitters. Minnesota would be wise to take a different approach against the righty and be more aggressive early in the count to avoid getting to two strikes as often.
Castillo's strikeout total was much lower during the last two instances he faced an opponent for the second time in 2023. He went from five to three strikeouts in his two starts against the Houston Astros, while his strikeout total lowered from nine to six during the righty's last two outings against the Texas Rangers.
This is a three-star play, as the Twins entered Sunday slashing .266/.355/.513 after the All-Star break compared to a .232/.309/.400 slash line in the first half of the season. Both FanDuel and PointsBet have set the total at 7.5 and are juiced as high as -150 to the Under, but DraftKings' plus-money odds at 6.5 are more enticing.
The Toronto Blue Jays have created more balance atop their lineup after inserting Brandon Belt as the No. 3 hitter. Belt entered Sunday batting just .227 when hitting third, but seven of his 23 RBIs came when featured in that spot in the lineup (he's hit third in 29.7% of his games). His chances of driving in a run increase when facing a pitcher who's b een struggling mightily against lefties.
Los Angeles Dodgers righty Michael Grove has allowed a .324 opponents' batting average to left-handed hitters, and Belt's .843 OPS is the best among all Blue Jays hitters against right-handed pitchers (minimum 100 at-bats).
PointsBet is offering +175 for Belt to drive in a runner, which seems like a steal compared to FanDuel's +145.
Monday's MLB game pick
Total: Royals-Guardians Under (-105 via PointsBet) ????
Two of the seven most profitable teams to the Under in 2023 meet in this AL Central battle. The Cleveland Guardians have also been among the most profitable Under teams at home in 2023, with it going 31-17-1 in the Guardians' 49 games at Progressive Field, and 23-9-1 with them as home favorites.
The Kansas City Royals are 6-18 over their last 24 games while averaging just 2.1 runs per contest in those losses, and getting held to one or fewer runs eight times. They now face Cleveland's Logan Allen, who has allowed an opponents' batting average against of .227 or lower when throwing his three primary pitches.
Meanwhile, Kansas City's Ryan Yarbrough needed one more out in two of his previous three outings to notch a quality start. However, his lone quality start during that span came in Cleveland on July 9, when he allowed just one run on six hits over six innings. He also tied a season-high with five strikeouts, which is impressive considering the Guardians own MLB's lowest strikeout rate.
BetRivers is the only sportsbook offering lower than -105 odds to back the Under.
Monday's MLB best bets made 7/24/23 at 7:23 a.m. ET
Here are our best MLB betting sites:
- FanDuel Promo Code: Bet $5, Get $100 in Bonus Bets | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars Promo Code: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings Promo Code: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet Promo Code: Earn Up To $500 in Second-Chance Bets | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.
Related pages
- Best Sports Betting Sites | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)