The Major League Baseball season is just over a week away from its annual All-Star Game, marking the completion of the first half of the season.
The Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners— two fairly unsuspecting ball clubs— are riding the league’s longest active winning streaks, while the Atlanta Braves are just 1.5 games away from matching the New York Mets in the National League East.
Here are the best player props for Monday’s action.
Randy Arozarena to Hit an RBI (+165)
Arozarena is the most talented player on the Tampa Bay Rays’ active roster, with Wander Franco, Kevin Kiermaier, and Mike Zunino all sidelined by injuries; he also has the team-high in RBIs in general but will be expected to raise his performances without his fellow co-stars in the lineup.
His chances will be better by the opportunity to go against a pitcher in Brayan Bello, who only has one prior start in the MLB in his career, also against the Rays, during which he let up four earned runs in four innings.
Max Scherzer 8+ Strikeouts (+112)
Scherzer will have the opportunity to lead the Mets’ avoidance of dropping the number-one seed in the division as he takes the mound Monday against a red-hot Atlanta squad.
In his return from injury, the famed ace only needed six innings to record 11 strikeouts, and he is averaging 1.27 strikeouts per inning— it will be tough against a talented Braves outfit, but Scherzer has tons of experience in high-leverage games and has as strong of a chance as anybody in the league at coming up with a strong outing.
Andrew Benintendi 2+ Hits (+165)
Benintendi has been the most consistent offensive threat on a Kansas City Royals team that, for the most part, has struggled otherwise.
He has recorded at least two hits in five of his ten outings this month and has an overall batting average of .317, so if he can see five, perhaps even just four plate appearances, he has a nice chance at covering his prop line.
Manny Machado to Hit a Home Run (+310)
Padres vs. Rockies Predictions
Machado’s San Diego Padres are heading to mile-high for a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies, and for those who do not know, the altitude tends to carry the ball much further than in other ballparks, which is why the game’s total is already set at 12.
The Rockies are also starting a player in Jose Urena, who has only been given 14.1 innings of work this season, which will strip him of rhythm and confidence, exactly what the Rockies do not need ahead of a matchup with a powerhouse in the NL.
Miles Mikolas Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-104)
Phillies vs. Cardinals Predictions
Mikolas has had a tremendous season thus far, going 5-7 with a 2.72 ERA; he is also averaging .78 strikeouts per innings, which means that he would need to last six innings to cover the line at his current rate.
The Phillies have been struggling offensively as of late, so it is likely that he sees enough action and goes over.