Thanks to some doubleheaders, we’ve got a jam-packed day of MLB action with 16 games going on the diamond. That means there is no shortage of options in the player prop market.
Today, we look at reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray, who has gotten his strikeout groove back. We'll also check out Willson Contreras, who is on another hot streak, and examine whether Marcus Semien has finally broken out of his season-long slump.
Check out our MLB player prop picks for Wednesday, June 1, as we bank on some of baseball’s best to do their thing.
MLB props for June 1
Picks made on 6/01/2022 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Today’s best MLB prop bets
The odds widgets below represent the best odds currently available for each betting market at regulated sportsbooks.
Robbie Ray? More like Robbie K
It appears that Robbie Ray has settled in with his new team and found his good strikeout stuff in the process. The current Seattle Mariner and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner will look to keep racking up the Ks when he takes the mound against the Baltimore Orioles.
After a slow start to the season where he struck out just 18 batters in his first 25 1-3 innings, the lefty has now rung up 50 batters over his last 35 1-3 frames and has struck out at least eight batters in five of his last six starts.
Ray has done a better job of locating both his fastball and slider in the month of May, keeping the four-seamer up and away to right-handers while the slider has been starting in the zone and dropping out. Now, he’ll get a chance to keep racking up the Ks against the O’s.
While the Orioles are still in last place in the AL East, the team is nowhere near as pathetic as in years past. That said, southpaws still pose a big problem for them. Only the Miami Marlins have a higher strikeout rate when facing lefties than Baltimore and its 8.98 strikeouts per rank 23rd in MLB.
Ray also struck out 23 Orioles in 15 2-3 innings as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays last season. We are getting a solid number to jump on tonight.
Pick: Robbie Ray Over 6.5 strikeouts (-127)
Contreras stays hot
When Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras gets in a groove at the plate, he can be one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. And he’s in one of those grooves as the Cubbies close out their series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Contreras is currently in the middle of a six-game hitting streak where he’s put up a .348 batting average and a 1.290 OPS — including him whacking two doubles and three dingers. Tonight, he’ll face Jason Alexander, who is making his Big-League debut.
The 29-year-old right-hander has been a career minor leaguer to this point, but has earned the callup by putting up solid numbers at AAA Nashville this season — pitching to a 2.64 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Alexander is more of a control guy than a strikeout guy with 33 punchouts in 47 2-3 innings this year.
That should mean a good chance at success for Contreras, who does an excellent job of barreling up balls in the strike zone. And with him going Over 1.5 total bases four times during this six-game hitting streak, getting plus money on the Over tonight looks like a solid value.
Pick: Willson Contreras Over 1.5 total bases (+120)
Super Semien
Is Marcus Semien finally breaking out of his two-month slump to begin his tenure with the Texas Rangers? Well, the Rangers second baseman finally hit his first homer of the season over the weekend, a year after hitting 45 with the Blue Jays, and now gets a favorable matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight.
On top of swatting that first dinger, Semien now has hits in five straight games, and in six of seven overall. During the hitting streak, he is hitting .350 with a 1.030 OPS.
He is still hitting below the Mendoza Line with his .199 batting average for the season, but his discipline at the plate hasn’t wavered. He doesn’t strike out a ton and isn’t chasing bad pitches. So, there is reason to believe this slump buster is for real.
As for tonight, Semien gets a matchup he should love going against Rays starter Jeffrey Springs. The Rays’ lefty is having a solid season, but he might be having nightmares about going against Semien. The Rangers’ second baseman is 5-for-7 in his career vs. Springs with three of those hits going for dingers.
With that in mind, we’ll take a shot on Semien to go Over his total bases at plus money — something he has done three times over this five-game hitting streak.
Pick: Marcus Semien Over 1.5 total bases (+105)
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