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With another full 15-game slate of MLB action on tap on Wednesday, May 17, there’s plenty of opportunity to find prop bets to profit on — provided you know where to look. Here are three of our favorite plays today.
MLB player prop bets: Wednesday, May 17
Yu Darvish, over 6.5 strikeouts (-115)
This is among the biggest strikeout numbers on today’s slate, but it’s also one that the San Diego Padres ace has hit in three of his last five starts — and he has a dream matchup on his side on Wednesday afternoon. Darvish will face a Kansas City Royals offense that’s among the worst in baseball against right-handers, with a .661 OPS and 24.7% strikeout rate that both rank 27th in the league.
The five-time All-Star has been particularly unforgiving to righty batters this year, with just a .150/.197/.350 slash line allowed — bad news for a Royals lineup that only boasts one lefty of note (Vinnie Pasquantino). No matter which way you slice it, everything seems to be trending in Darvish’s favor here.
Dustin May, under 5.5 hits allowed (-120)
I won’t lie, I feel like I have to be missing something with this number. May has given up six or more hits exactly once in eight starts this season — and just six times in 33 career starts, if you want to zoom out a little further. May’s opponent on Wednesday, the Minnesota Twins, have been decent enough against righties this year, but that’s mostly due to a solid walk rate; the Twins are batting just .234 vs. right-handed pitching, good for 22nd in baseball. Unless these odds shift dramatically before first pitch, I don’t see how this over hits.
Nick Senzel, over 1.5 total bases (-105)
Coors Field is always a great place to look for prop bets, and Wednesday is no different. The Colorado Rockies will send Austin Gomber to the mound against the Cincinnati Reds today, and the lefty has had a bear of a time against right-handed batters at Coors Field this season — with a whopping .313/.352/.627 line that includes 13 extra base hits in just 71 plate appearances. Senzel, meanwhile, has extreme platoon splits for Cincy, with an OPS against lefties (1.295) that’s more than 600 points higher than his mark against righties (.614). The former top prospect has been swinging the bat well this year and is an excellent bet for at least one extra-base knock in the most hitter-friendly environment in baseball.