MLB Player Props & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Monday

We've come to our first Monday of 2024 MLB regular-season action, and we're offering our MLB player props and best bets for the packed slate based on the best MLB odds.

After an exciting opening weekend of baseball, MLB has a loaded Monday in store with 28 of 30 teams set to take the field on April 1.

Four ballclubs are unscathed in 2024, and while the unbeaten New York Yankees are among the contenders by our World Series odds, the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates are off to much hotter starts than most imagined.

The week begins with several intriguing series, perhaps none more so than the Houston Astros and the Toronto Blue Jays. The two teams are near the top of the MLB projected win totals list, and if the season plays out the way their fans wish, this could be a preview of a big playoff showdown in the fall.

The nightcap is an NL West battle at Dodger Stadium, with first pitch for the San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers expected to come at 10:10 p.m. ET.

Who will emerge victorious on the first Monday of the 2024 MLB regular season?

To accompany our Blue Jays vs. Astros player prop predictions, here are our MLB player props and best bets for Monday (MLB picks based on odds via our best MLB betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Monday’s MLB best bets

• Max Meyer Under 4.5 strikeouts (+115 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chase Silseth Under 4.5 strikeouts (-111 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐
• Triston McKenzie Under 6.5 strikeouts (-125 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Luis Gil Under 5.5 strikeouts (-115 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Monday’s MLB player props

Max Meyer Under 4.5 strikeouts (+115 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Game info: Angels vs. Marlins | Moneyline: Angels (-102 via DraftKings) | Total: Over 8.5 (-115)/Under 8.5 (-105) via bet365 | Start time: 6:40 p.m. ET

Miami Marlins right-hander Max Meyer has pitched only six major-league innings in his career, missing the end of the 2022 season and all of last year after underdoing Tommy John surgery. He was a trusted source of strikeouts in the minor leagues before then, but he's two years and a major surgery removed from that.

Opposing Meyer is a Los Angeles Angels team that's striking out for fun to start this season. Admittedly, that does give me some pause, but we have to acknowledge that the Angels squared off against some very tough pitchers in their series against the Baltimore Orioles, including MLB Cy Young odds contender Corbin Burnes.

Across two of our trusted projected models, Meyer's average strikeout projection is just 4.37. That's more than half a strikeout below what he needs to clear this total, and we're also getting good plus-money odds at bet365. A big reason for the low projection is that we're unlikely to see Meyer go more than five innings on Monday.

Pinnacle, which features one of the most respected trading teams in the sports betting industry, already has its Under priced at -117 after opening at +120. Be sure to use our exclusive bet365 bonus code: SBRBONUS to get these odds before they shorten to minus money!

Chase Silseth Under 4.5 strikeouts (-111 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

Game info: Angels vs. Marlins | Moneyline: Angels (-102 via DraftKings) | Total: Over 8.5 (-115)/Under 8.5 (-105) via bet365 | Start time: 6:40 p.m. ET  

Yes, that's right, we're fading both starting pitchers in Angels vs. Marlins. 

Los Angeles right-hander Chase Silseth will take the mound opposite Meyer, and we're betting on him to finish with fewer than five punchouts, too. Silseth had some bright moments throughout the 2023 campaign, averaging 9.63 strikeouts per nine innings over 52 1/3 frames. However, he also walked 4.47 batters per nine, which is a recipe for short outings.

Unlike the Angels, the Marlins were quite good at avoiding the walk of shame last season. Their 21.3% strikeout rate ranked eighth-best in the league, and they're directly in the middle of the pack to start this season.

Silseth owns a slightly lower projection than Meyer on Monday, which is why we're still getting value on these -111 odds at FanDuel. However, if you want to beef up this bet, you can use our exclusive FanDuel promo code and get a 30% boost for any single MLB wager on Monday!

Pinnacle's Under is trading at -129, further illustrating how valuable these odds already are, so just imagine what that plus-money price will look like with the 30% boost!

Triston McKenzie Under 6.5 strikeouts (-125 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐  

Game info: Guardians vs. Mariners | Moneyline: Pick'em | Total: Over 8 (-105)/Under 8 (-115) via bet365 | Start time: 9:40 p.m. ET

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie used to be a strikeout machine, averaging 10.2 K/9 across 120 innings in 2021. However, he also gave up a ton of walks and home runs. Therefore, he changed his approach in 2022 and found more success despite striking out fewer than one batter per inning. We'd expect him to continue to pitch in that fashion in 2024.

The Seattle Mariners will do their best to help him clear this total, though. Seattle was the second-most strikeout-prone team in the majors last season. It's followed that up by being, you guessed it, the second-most strikeout-prone team so far this season, too.

MLB MVP odds contender Julio Rodriguez is one of the best on the Mariners at not striking out in 2024, and he's still being sent packing by opposing pitchers in nearly 30% of his plate appearances.

Despite that, McKenzie's strikeout projection is very low, and it's nearly identical at three of our trusted projection sites. With an average strikeout projection of just 5.07, we're getting roughly 35% positive expected value from these odds at bet365.

All of our other best sports betting sites are -130 or shorter, and Pinnacle is already at -161 after opening at -126. 

Luis Gil Under 5.5 strikeouts (-115 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Game info: Yankees vs. Diamondbacks | Moneyline: Yankees (-125 via DraftKings) | Total: Over 10 (-110)/Under 10 (-110) via bet365 | Start time: 9:40 p.m. ET

Many fans were excited when the Yankees decided to call up Luis Gil to the big-league roster to open the season, and for good reason. The 25-year-old showcased electric stuff in the minors, striking out roughly 12.5 batters per nine across two years in Triple-A. However, Gil then underwent Tommy John surgery, and we've seen very little of him since then.

The Arizona Diamondbacks were extremely tough on opposing pitchers last season, striking out at the fourth-lowest rate in the league. They've followed that up by being even bigger sticklers at the plate, managing a 14.2% strikeout rate through their first four games, which is easily the best in the majors.

In addition to Arizona's penchant for putting the ball in play, Gil could be on a very strict pitch limit in this start. That's likely why his average strikeout projection is only 5.03 despite Steamer having him at 10.17 per nine for the season.

These odds at bet365 are golden, especially when we see the prices FanDuel and BetMGM are offering. Pinnacle is even shorter than those two, with its Under trading at -152. 

MLB best bets made Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Here are our best MLB betting sites:

• Caesars Promo Code: SBRBONUS1000 | Read our Caesars Review
• BetMGM Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetMGM Review
• bet365 Bonus Code: SBRBONUS | Read our bet365 Review
• BetRivers Promo Code: SBRBONUS | Read our BetRivers Review
• FanDuel Promo Code | Read our FanDuel Review
• DraftKings Promo Code | Read our DraftKings Review

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Related pages

• Best Live Betting Sites | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)