Today’s MLB Prop Picks: Ryu Gets Back In Form Against Reds

There’s going to be a lot of MLB action on Friday, May 20, and we have you covered with some of our favorite prop bets on the slate, and betting on player performances can be an extremely fun way to make some money.

With that said, here are our favorite MLB player prop picks for May 20.

MLB props for May 20

• Zunino Over 0.5 hits (-161)
• Ryu Over 4.5 Ks (+116)
• Donaldson Over 1.5 TB (+115)

Picks made on 5/20/2022 at 11:40 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Today’s best MLB prop bets

The odds widgets below represent the best odds currently available for each betting market at regulated sportsbooks.

Mike drop

In our first prop of the day, we’re backing the struggling Mike Zunino to get a hit in his game against the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are sending Tyler Wells to the mound in this game, and the righty is just 1-3 with a 4.18 ERA this season. And last year, the big 6-foot-8 pitcher had a 4.11 ERA, so we just haven’t really seen him maintain a high level since he entered the big leagues.

Zunino also happened to hit a two-run homer off of Wells in one of the two at-bats he’s had against the righty, and that was back on May 18 of last season. We’re banking on Zunino, who has a good presence at the plate, to use that experience to come through against Wells again. After all, he is a catcher, and they tend to be the smartest players in baseball. That will help him take advantage of any edge he has out there. 

Zunino is also just due for a decent stretch in the next couple of weeks, as his .150 average is way down from last year’s .216. Considering Zunino doubled in his last game on May 17, perhaps he’ll be feeling pretty good tonight. It also might be worth sprinkling a quarter of a unit on Zunino to hit a homer at +370 here. 

Pick: Mike Zunino Over 0.5 hits (-161 at Caesars)

Ryu gets rollin

Ryu has made only three starts for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, and he hasn’t thrown more than 71 pitches in any of them. With that, the lefty has pitched only 12 innings all year and hasn’t topped four strikeouts in a single outing yet.

However, with Ryu getting healthier and healthier, that workload is due to increase pretty soon. And it wouldn’t be surprising to see him throw 75 to 80 pitches tonight. Against the lowly Cincinnati Reds, that could mean working deeper into the game and a season high in strikeouts. 

It’s hard to even put into words how bad the Reds have been this year, with the team having just 11 wins on the season. Cincinnati has also scored only 150 runs thus far, and it was a 29-run series against the Milwaukee Brewers that skewed the numbers and made that total look a little better. 

Cincinnati also happens to have the third-highest strikeout rate in baseball this season at 24.9%. That number actually goes up to 26.5% when this lineup faces southpaws. With that in mind, Ryu should be able to miss some bats in this outing — even if that isn’t exactly his game. And at plus money, we like rolling with him to finish with at least five against lowly Cincy. 

Pick: Hyun Jin Ryu Over 4.5 strikeouts (+116 at FanDuel)

Donaldson's day

This has been an up-and-down season for Donaldson in his first year in the Bronx, but the 36-year-old is now batting .252 with five homers and 14 RBI in 2022. He’ll definitely take that after an insanely slow start to the year, as he entered May with a .203 batting average and only two homers and five RBI.

But a May in which Donaldson is batting .315 with three homers and nine RBIs — as well as three doubles and just 17 hits overall — has turned his season around and showed why the Yankees were willing to take on his contract. 

Now, Donaldson has a matchup with Dallas Keuchel at Yankee Stadium, and the righty slugger has enjoyed this head-to-head battle in the past. In his career against Keuchel, Donaldson has a double and two homers in 38 at-bats. The batting average of .237 definitely leaves a lot to be desired, but it just wouldn’t take a lot for Donaldson to poke one over the fence — or to the fence for a double — here. 

Donaldson has also always crushed lefties, as he has a slugging percentage of .553 and an on-base plus slugging of .923 against them over his career. With Keuchel being one that doesn’t have overpowering stuff, there’s just no reason Donaldson can’t reach his total bases mark here. All it would take is two hits or just one extra-base hit. 

Pick: Josh Donaldson Over 1.5 total bases (+115 at DraftKings)

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