3 Best MLB Player Prop Bets for Friday 7/18/25

The beauty of baseball is the wide variety of prop markets at your fingertips, from home runs to strikeouts and much more.

Utilizing our MLB projections as a guide, here are some MLB player props that look appealing via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Please note that betting lines and MLB player projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

Best MLB Player Props Today

Jackson Merrill to Record an RBI (+135)

Mike Soroka has been good for the Washington Nationals, but his splits against lefties have me interested in Jackson Merrill's RBI prop.

Soroka has permitted a .361 wOBA and 1.95 homers per nine innings to left-handed hitters this season.

Merrill has been in a brutal slump of late, posting a .143 batting average and .250 wOBA in July. While it's not all bad luck, there's definitely some bad luck at play as Merrill's BABIP this month is a lowly .138 -- miles below his career .318 BABIP.

Merrill hits right behind Fernando Tatis Jr., Luis Arraez and Manny Machado, putting him in a good spot for RBI chances, and with the San Diego Padres listed at -106 odds to go over 4.5 runs, Merrill's RBI prop is a bet I'm backing.

Oneil Cruz to Record 2+ Total Bases (+110)

Oneil Cruz is another hitter who is in a bit of a funk, but I like his chances of having a big game tonight against Jonathan Cannon.

Since the start of June 1, Cruz has a .264 wOBA and 31.9% strikeout rate. He hasn't been good. But similar to Merrill, Cruz is suffering from some bad luck. His BABIP in that span is just .250 despite Cruz racking up a respectable 37.5% hard-hit rate in the split. That summarizes Cruz's season as his .319 wOBA is lagging way behind his .363 expected wOBA.

Cruz does the vast majority of his damage against righties (.351), and he can cook versus Cannon, who is surrendering 1.63 jacks per nine and a .362 wOBA to lefty bats. Cruz also fares way better at home (.355 wOBA) than on the road (.283), so tonight's matchup checks all the boxes for him.

Mookie Betts to Record a Run (-135)

The Los Angeles Dodgers get a friendly matchup with Quinn Priester tonight, and that pushes me on Mookie Betts to score a run.

Priester is having a career-best season for the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching to a 3.99 SIERA and finding success via a 58.1% ground-ball rate. Despite those numbers, I'm not fully bought in to Preister's campaign as he still doesn't miss bats, registering an 18.8% K rate and 9.8% swinging-strike rate. That could lead to trouble versus LA's loaded offense, one that owns -120 odds to score over 4.5 runs.

Along the lines of the first two batters I've written up, Mookie Betts has some underwhelming numbers, with his .305 wOBA a career-worst clip. But his .326 expected wOBA and 47.9% fly-ball rate point to brighter days ahead. Plus, Betts produced a gaudy .371 wOBA just a year ago.

With the Dodgers' offense expected to have success and Betts likely to hit second in the order -- right in front of Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez -- Mookie to score a run is my favorite prop bet of the day.

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Which player props stand out to you today? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's MLB betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.