MLB Player Props Today: 2 Best MLB Prop Bets for Monday 5/18/26

Top MLB Player Props at a Glance

• Juan Soto to Record an RBI
• Noah Schultz Over 4.5 Strikeouts

The beauty of baseball is the wide variety of prop markets at your fingertips each day -- from home runs to strikeouts to total bases and much more.

Here are some MLB player props that look appealing via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as well as our MLB projections.

MLB odds via FanDuel Sportsbook and may change throughout the day after this article is published. All stats come from FanGraphs and Baseball Savant unless noted otherwise.

What are the top MLB home run picks for today?

MLB Player Prop Bets for Today

Juan Soto to Record an RBI (+100)

Mets vs. Nationals, 6:46 p.m. ET

Juan Soto missed some time due to injury earlier this campaign, but outside of that, it's been mostly business as usual for him as he's amassed a .389 expected wOBA.

Against RHPs, Soto owns a gaudy .432 wOBA, 46.6% hard-hit rate and 44.8% fly-ball rate. He's so good.

Today, Soto will see Jake Irvin, a right-hander who isn't missing many bats (9.8% swinging-strike rate) and is letting up a 40.8% hard-hit rate to left-handed hitters.

The Mets are listed at -158 odds to go over 4.5 runs, and the wind is blowing out today at 10 MPH in DC.

Likely to be third in the lineup, Soto should have chances to drive in a run, and once Irvin is out of the game, he'll take his hacks against a Nats bullpen that has the fourth-worst reliever xFIP.

Noah Schultz Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-136)

White Sox vs. Mariners, 9:41 p.m. ET

Noah Schultz gets a big park-factor boost today in Seattle, and I'm backing him to reach at least five strikeouts.

T-Mobile Park in Seattle is a great venue for pitchers. Per Statcast Park Factors, it's the most pitcher-friendly stadium in baseball. That should help Schultz's chances of having a good outing and working deeper into the game, which in turn gives him more opportunities to get Ks.

Admittedly, Schultz has been pretty meh this year, pitching to a 4.82 expected ERA and 20.8% strikeout rate. But in the minors, he showed massive swing-and-miss upside, including a 16.5% swinging-strike rate in Triple-A this season (14.0 IP).

Not only does the park help, the Mariners' offense is a superb matchup as Seattle ranks 20th in wOBA with the sixth-highest strikeout rate (23.8%).

MLB Prop Bets -- Frequently Asked Questions

What are MLB player prop bets?

MLB player prop bets are wagers on specific statistical outcomes tied to individual players during a game — not on which team wins or loses. You might bet on how many strikeouts a starting pitcher records, whether a shortstop gets a hit, or how many total bases an outfielder accumulates.

Because they are isolated to a single player's performance, props let you apply focused knowledge about matchups, recent form, and ballpark conditions rather than predicting the full game result.

What types of MLB player props are available?

FanDuel offers a wide menu of MLB props. The most common categories include:

• Pitcher strikeouts
• Batter hits
• Home runs
• Total bases
• RBIs
• Stolen bases
• Pitcher outs recorded

How do MLB player prop bet odds work?

MLB prop odds use the standard American (moneyline) format. A negative number shows how much you must wager to profit $100. A positive number shows how much a $100 bet returns in profit.

• -110 odds — bet $110 to win $100
• +130 odds — bet $100 to win $130
• -200 odds — bet $200 to win $100

What does "total bases" mean as a prop bet?

The total bases prop counts the bases a batter earns from hits in a single game:

• Single = 1 base
• Double = 2 bases
• Triple = 3 bases
• Home run = 4 bases

Walks, hit-by-pitches, and stolen bases do not count. A typical total bases line is set at 1.5 or 2.5. Betting over 1.5 means you need at least a double, or two singles.

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Which player props stand out to you today? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's MLB 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.