A pair of AL East hitters I like today are Junior Caminero and Ben Rice. But first, let's begin in Philadelphia, where Elly De La Cruz and the Reds will look to cool off the red-hot Phillies.
Let's dive into my MLB player props for Monday, May 18.
MLB Player Props Today
- Elly De La Cruz Over 1.5 Total Bases (+107, DraftKings)
- Junior Caminero Over 1.5 Total Bases (+110, BetMGM)
- Ben Rice Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In (-122, DraftKings)
Reds vs Phillies Player Props
De La Cruz heads to Philadelphia riding a 10-game hitting streak with seven multi-hit games. In that span, he is slashing .419/.444/.628 with six doubles and three runs batted in. Yesterday, he snapped a 24-game home run drought with his 11th of the year. He will go for another one against Andrew Painter tonight.
While Painter may lead the Phillies' rotation one day, he is currently being hit hard as he is surrendering a .312 opposing batting average and .858 OPS. He has allowed six extra-base hits to left-handed hitters and Citizens Bank Park has not been kind to him. He has a 6.50 ERA at home after eight runs in his last home start against the A's.
De La Cruz has not faced Painter before but he has nine doubles, six home runs, and a .307 batting average against right-handed pitchers. He also has a slightly higher batting average in night games. During his hitting streak, he has recorded two total bases in nine of 10 games. At plus odds, I'll be backing him to get there again.
Pick: Elly De La Cruz Over 1.5 Total Bases
Orioles vs Rays Player Props
The Orioles were counting on Trevor Rogers to build on his dominant finish to last season when he posted a 1.81 ERA and 5.5 WAR. He has not gotten the same results thus far as he has a 5.77 ERA through his first seven starts. He has allowed at least three runs in each of his last four starts. Now, he gets Tampa, who has scored four runs in six of its last seven games.
One Rays' hitter that figures to give him trouble is Caminero, who is 2-for-5 against him. Neither of those hits were home runs, but they both had over a 100 mph exit velocity. He does have three home runs off left-handed pitchers this year and three of his 12 homers this season have come in his last 10 games. He did not waste any time yesterday with a first inning blast off Eury Perez.
Caminero is +320 for a home run tonight and if he does leave the yard, he will also clear his total bases. He has recorded two total bases in five of his last nine games while averaging 2.2 per game.
Pick: Junior Caminero Over 1.5 Total Bases
Blue Jays vs Yankees Player Props
Over the last few years, Patrick Corbin's starts have been a reason to celebrate for bettors and opposing fans. While he has not been as bad over the last year or so, he does enter tonight's start with a 1.39 WHIP. Tonight, he will pitch at Yankee Stadium where the short porch in right field will come into play and one hitter that may take advantage is Rice.
Officially off the platoon against left-handed pitchers, Rice has actually dominated them this season. Rice has a 1.008 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season and five of his 12 hits are home runs. Rice is tied fourth in the MLB with 15 home runs this season and he has a home run in his only at-bat against Corbin.
The majority of Corbin's extra-base hits allowed have been to right-handed hitters, but left-handed hitters have a .320 batting average against him. Both of those things bode well for Rice. If he gets on, he can be knocked in by Aaron Judge or another teammate like Paul Goldschmidt. That would help him clear his hits, runs, and runs batted in line, which he has hit at a 60% rate this season. He is also +370 for a home run tonight and is +1870 if paired with Caminero.
Pick: Ben Rice Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In
MLB Player Props for Monday, May 18
- Elly De La Cruz Over 1.5 Total Bases (+107, DraftKings)
- Junior Caminero Over 1.5 Total Bases (+110, BetMGM)
- Ben Rice Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + Runs Batted In (-122, DraftKings)
