Player props have become one of baseball’s most entertaining ways to bet, offering value well beyond the moneyline, run line, or game total. Each day, this column highlights the best opportunities on the board — from strikeouts and hits to total bases and pitcher outs recorded — using matchup data, recent form, and betting trends to identify edges. Keep reading for the top MLB player prop picks for May 22. Also, make sure you check out our live VSiN programming for more. Our hosts and analysts will be all over the MLB, which is why it pays to be a VSiN Pro subscriber.

MORE: Check out the VSiN Pro Picks page for more bets from our talented hosts and analysts!

Friday Player Prop Best Bets

Below you’ll find my official plays on the player prop market for Friday. These are the ones that make the VSiN Pro Picks page and count towards my season-long record. I’ll write three up per day, but I’ll add additional ones in an “Additional Best Bets” section. I go lighter on baseball than I do other sports. My MLB units are 50% of what my normal units are.

Gerrit Cole Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-139 – 1.5 units) & Cole Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+163 – 0.5 units) vs. Rays

Rays at Yankees – 7:05 pm ET

Backing a starter off a lengthy injury layoff is always risky. However, these totals are also lower than we’ll get on Cole the rest of the season, and I like striking in these situations. It has served me well with Spencer Strider thus far, and I’m hoping things go the same way here. Cole struggled through his first few starts in the minors, but his last few outings have been solid. The righty struck out 14 batters in his final 10.1 innings of work. Cole now has to do it against a real lineup, and this Rays one is quite dangerous. But as long as Cole has a long leash, I’ll always like him to be on the right side of a total of 4.5. I’ll even take my chances with him to strike out six.

Bryan Reynolds Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+110) vs. Blue Jays

Pirates at Blue Jays – 7:07 pm ET

Reynolds didn’t get us two hits, runs, and RBIs (HRR) on Thursday, but I’m going back to him tonight. Reynolds is averaging 2.2 HRR per game over the last 19 games, and he has gone Over this total in 12 of those games. Reynolds has also gone Over 1.5 HRR in nine of his last 14 games against right-handed starters, plus he’s averaging 2.4 HRR per game in those games. Reynolds is also going up against a struggling version of Kevin Gausman. The righty is coming off 6.0 scoreless innings against the Tigers on Sunday, but he gave up six earned on 10 hits in 4.2 innings against the Rays the start before. His swing-and-miss stuff has also been largely nonexistent this year.

Shohei Ohtani Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-130) vs. Brewers

Embed from Getty Images

Dodgers at Brewers – 7:40 pm ET

Ohtani is riding a heater at the plate right now, racking up at least two HRR in six of the last seven games. It was always a matter of when the megastar would get going with the bat, as he struggled a bit to start the season. Well, now that he’s in the middle of a hot streak, I have been trying to catch it. So far, backing Ohtani has been a profitable move for me recently, and tonight feels like another night to put some faith in him. At just -130 to go Over 1.5 HRR, I’ll take my chances with Ohtani against Logan Henderson. Ohtani is averaging 4.4 HRR per game in his last seven games, with all of those coming against right-handed starters. Henderson is obviously a tremendous talent, but this a good price to be getting for Ohtani’s preferred split.

Additional Best Bets

Spencer Arrighetti Over 16.5 Outs Recorded (-104) vs. Cubs

Gavin Williams Over 6.5 Strikeouts (+109) vs. Phillies

Samuel Basallo Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+105) vs. Tigers

Noah Cameron Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-120) vs. Mariners

Grayson Rodriguez Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+117) vs. Rangers

Tomoyuki Sugano Over 2.5 Strikeouts (+108 – 1.5 units) vs. Diamondbacks

Carlos Cortes Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+102) vs. Padres

Jeff McNeil Over 0.5 Total Bases (-160) vs. Padres

Davis Martin Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-144 – 1.5 units) & Alt Strikeouts 6+ (+162 – 0.5 units) vs. Giants

Noteworthy OptaAI Player Prop Edges

Check out the BRAND NEW OptaAI Player Props MLB pages for more of these! VSiN Pro subscribers can find 50+ player prop ideas on a daily basis! We’ll list the top edges in some of the biggest markets below, but there will always be a lot more to uncover on the pages themselves.

Rob Refsnyder Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (+146) vs. Royals

Our OptaAI player prop projections have him going for 2.17 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -175 — a +23.0% edge to the Over.

Josh Lowe Over 0.5 Hits + Runs + RBIs (-127) vs. Rangers

Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 1.56 hits, runs, and RBIs, suggesting these odds should be -373 — a +22.9% edge to the Over.

Grayson Rodriguez Over 5.5 Strikeouts (+112) vs. Rangers

Our OptaAI player prop projections have him finishing with 7.00 strikeouts, suggesting these odds should be -233 — a +22.8% edge to the Over.

The post Best MLB Player Props Today (May 22, 2026): Picks & Predictions appeared first on VSiN.