Thanks to a doubleheader, we have an absolutely loaded day on the diamond with a whopping 16 MLB games for baseball bettors to dive into. That means there is plenty of value to be found in the player prop market.
Tonight, can Alek Manoah slow down the red-hot Yankees, who have won 10 in a row? How can we fade the Reds in the player prop market? And, are the Astros’ bats starting to lift off?
Find out in our MLB player prop picks for Tuesday, May 3, as we bank on some of baseball’s best (and worst) to do their thing.
MLB props for May 3
- Manoah Over 17.5 outs recorded (-135)
- Woodruff to record a win (+125)
- Tucker Over 1.5 total bases (-115)
Picks made on 5/3/2022 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
The odds widgets below represent the best odds currently available for each betting market at regulated sportsbooks.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Today’s best MLB prop bets
Manoah war
The New York Yankees extended their impressive win streak to 10 games after taking the opener of their series against the Toronto Blue Jays last night. Getting to 11 will be a tough task, as Alek Manoah will be staring them down from the rubber in Game 2.
Manoah has been one of the best pitchers in baseball through the first month of this 2022 campaign. The big right-hander has allowed just four runs on 14 hits while striking out 25 batters over his first four starts of the season. That equates to an expected ERA of 2.15, and he's limiting opponents to an expected batting average of .197.
One of those starts came against the Yankees, in which he held them scoreless over six innings, allowing just one hit while striking out seven. Long outings have been a common theme for Manoah over his short career. He averaged 5.7 innings pitched per start and has pitched at least six innings in each of his first four starts this season.
Manoah is also the ultimate competitor and it looks like he is always ready to bring it against the Jays’ biggest rivals. In fact, in three starts against the Yankees, he pitched to a 1.53 ERA while limiting the Yankees to a .133 batting average hover 17 2-3 innings of work, pitching at least six innings in each.
With the Yankees ranking 17th and 19th in batting average and OPS when playing on the road this season, bet on another big start for Manoah and take him to go Over his outs recorded prop.
Pick: Alek Manoah Over 17.5 outs recorded (-135 at Caesars)
W for Woodruff
The season in Cincinnati can’t end soon enough for the Reds, but the fade the Reds gravy train continues for baseball bettors. They are just 3-19 this season, having failed to cover the run line in 16 of those 19 losses.
Eventually, the profits will slow down, through either better play by the Reds (unfortunately unlikely) or by major sportsbook adjustments — think favorites hitting the -300 range and maybe run lines of 2.5 — but this is a player prop article and prop bettors can hop on the train as well.
Tonight, that will be by backing Brandon Woodruff to record a win when the Milwaukee Brewers host the Reds in the opener of a three-game set.
Woodruff, who finished fifth in National League Cy Young voting last season, has gotten off to a rough start posting a 5.30 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP but the right-hander has definitely been a little unlucky. His expected ERA is a much lower 3.31 while opponents have an expected batting average of .221 against him. Now, he faces the Reds.
Cincinnati ranks next-to-last when it comes to batting average vs. right-handed pitching (.202) and 27th in OPS. Its -65-run differential is the worst in the majors, by a whopping 24 runs.
The Reds counter Woodruff with Vladimir Gutierrez, who has an xERA of 4.79 but is walking way too many batters and getting himself in trouble, resulting in a 1.97 WHIP. He also hasn’t pitched more than 4 2-3 innings this season and will have to hand the ball to a bullpen that ranks 28th in ERA.
Bet on the Brewers' offense to do enough to help Woodruff secure the win.
Pick: Brandon Woodruff to record a win (+125 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Flexin' on Flexen
The Houston Astros got off to just a horrendous offensive start. It felt like everyone started slow and then Jose Altuve got hurt. However, over the last week or so, the Astros have achieved liftoff with the likes of Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez finding their rhythm at the dish, but none have seen a more drastic turnaround than Kyle Tucker.
The Astros outfielder couldn’t hit fish in a barrel with a stick of dynamite early on. Tucker was hitting just .127 with a .450 OPS over his first 15 games this season but you wouldn’t be able to tell that now.
The lefty is now in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, where he is hitting an awesome .517 with a 1.328 OPS. He has four consecutive multi-hit games and has gone Over 1.5 total bases in all eight of the games during this streak.
Tuesday, he’ll face Seattle Mariners’ starter Chris Flexen. The right-hander has bounced back from a tough start but he still owns an expected ERA of 5.02 and opponents have a .293 expected batting average when facing him.
On top of that, Tucker has had plenty of success against Flexen to this point in their respective careers with Tucker whacking four hits in 10 career at-bats against Flexen (.400). With Tucker now hitting .309 against right-handers this season, he looks like a great bet to go Over his total bases once again.
Pick: Kyle Tucker Over 1.5 total bases (-115 at bet365)
Did you know that if you played today’s MLB props as a parlay, you could win $63.22 on a $10 bet?
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