Twenty-six of the 30 Major League Baseball teams are in action on a more packed than usual Monday slate. Read on for our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Monday based on the best MLB odds.
Monday's MLB slate gets off to its earliest start of the season (11:10 a.m. ET) with the annual Patriot's Day home game at Fenway Park. Elsewhere, two high profile series begin on the West Coast in the National League, as the San Diego Padres host the Atlanta Braves, and the New York Mets visit the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Here are our top MLB prop picks and best bets for Monday (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and WynnBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Monday's MLB schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Los Angeles Angels (-165) vs. Boston Red Sox (+ 140)
- Cleveland Guardians (-130) vs. Detroit Tigers (+110)
- San Francisco Giants (+115) vs. Miami Marlins (-135)
- Tampa Bay Rays (-135) vs. Cincinnati Reds (+115)
- Philadelphia Phillies (-125) vs. Chicago White Sox (+105)
- Texas Rangers (-205) vs. Kansas City Royals (+175)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (+140) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-165)
- Toronto Blue Jays (-125) vs. Houston Astros (+105)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (+120) vs. Colorado Rockies (-140)
- Chicago Cubs (-140) vs. Oakland Athletics (+120)
- Milwaukee Brewers (-145) vs. Seattle Mariners (+125)
- Atlanta Braves (-155) vs. San Diego Padres (+135)
- New York Mets (+140) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (-165)
Monday's MLB best bets
- Player prop: Matt Chapman to record 2+ total bases (+150 via FanDuel) vs. Astros ????
- Player prop: Kyle Schwarber to hit a home run (+280 via FanDuel) vs. White Sox ???
- Player prop: Kyle Freeland to record a win (+195 via DraftKings) vs. Pirates ???
- Upset: Athletics ML vs. Cubs (+130 via WynnBet) ???
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Monday's MLB prop picks
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman leads the team in several offensive categories, including batting average (.421), RBIs (15), and on-base percentage (.484). In addition, he entered Sunday as the MLB leader in OPS (1.290). Thus, we are willing to overlook that he is just 2-for-10 in his career against Astros righty Cristian Javier, especially since both hits went for extra bases (including one home run).
Chapman just had an 18-game on-base streak snapped on Sunday, which was ti ed for third-longest in the league. And since 11 of his 24 hits this season have gone for extra bases, we may only need one base hit to cash this prop. In addition, Javier's 9.5 hits per nine innings and 7.4 K/9 rates are on pace to be career worsts, so we're not bothered that Chapman has struck out in half of his at-bats against him.
Bettors can find the Over of 0.5 total bases for -140 odds at DraftKings and -143 at Caesars, but we're opting for better value with plus-money odds on the higher number at FanDuel.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has just three hits in 14 career at-bats against Chicago White Sox hurler Lance Lynn but still has a more than respectable .996 OPS in that span, thanks to two home runs.
Schwarber led the league with 46 home runs last year despite finishing April with a .169 average, .720 OPS, and five home runs. Thus far, Schwarber is hi tting .230 with a .830 OPS and four home runs, suggesting he is in line for an even bigger season.
Lynn is as likely as any White Sox pitcher to serve up a long ball to Schwarber, as he has already allowed six home runs in 16 innings, one year after finishing with the worst HR/9 rate (1.4) of his career.
FanDuel is the best place to shop for Schwarber home run odds, as Caesars is offering half the price (+140), and DraftKings is also lower at +215.
Colorado Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland has allowed just two runs in 18 2/3 innings this season, despite two of those starts coming at Coors Field. In addition, he faced two teams (St. Louis Cardinals and Padres) that were expected to be NL pennant contenders and who each scored over 700 runs last season.
Freeland should work efficiently against a Pittsburgh Pirates team that ranks 25th in batting average (.23 5) but one that is in the top half of the league in slugging, thanks to his barrel percentage that ranks in the top third of the league. Meanwhile, we expect Colorado's offense to mash against Pirates southpaw Rich Hill, as it ranked fifth in the league with a .381 BABIP against left-handed pitching in home games last year.
DraftKings offers slightly better odds than Caesars' +179 odds for this wager.
Monday's MLB game picks
Despite going 1-6 over the previous seven days, Oakland's lineup started to rake, ranking in the top 10 in the league in BABIP, wRC+, and 14th in wOBA. The problem was the A's allowed 60 runs in that span, but we expect Monday's pitcher, Kyle Muller, to right the ship.
Muller is the only A's starter that has a positive WAR, despite the organization's No. 5 prospect having a 5.52 ERA so far. Though the Cubs rank second in the league in BABIP (.373) against left-handed pitching this year, they are not putting the ball in play often, with the league's fifth-highest strikeout rate (30.3%) against southpaws.
This is a three-star play as Chicago is 2-9 in its last 11 interleague games against teams with a losing record, while Oakland has won seven of its previous 10 against the NL Central. WynnBet is the only sportsbook where one can find Oakland at higher than +120 odds.
MLB best bets made 4/17/2023 at 7:11 a.m. ET.
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