MLB Best Bets May 19: Welcome to the Varsho

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May 18th recap: Max Muncy homered to hit the over on his prop, but Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman both went hitless.

Let’s head into the weekend on a high note with these three player props for Friday night’s MLB action.

*Odds as of 11am ET*

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Daulton Varsho OVER 1.5 Total Bases +130, BetMGM (Wager: 1 unit to win 1.3 units)

Like a lot of the Blue Jays lineup, Varsho is scuffling right now.

Over his past 34 plate appearances, Varsho is batting .125 with a .250 SLG%.

Regardless, I still like his matchup tonight against Orioles starter Kyle Gibson.

Gibson has allowed a .551 SLG% to lefty hitters this season and strikes out only 15.1% of batters from that side of the plate.

Varsho can swing and miss frequently, so facing Gibson should help mitigate that somewhat.

His speed also allows him to pick up extra-base hits with ease.

This feels like a get-right spot for the Blue Jays outfielder.

Jeremy Pena OVER 1.5 Total Bases +105, DraftKings (Wager: 1 unit to 1.05 units)

In his short MLB career, the Astros shortstop has shown a propensity to mash left-handed pitching.

Pena put up a .817 OPS last season against southpaws. This year, he’s taken it up a notch with a .912 OPS.

Pena will face Oakland A’s lefty Ken Waldichuk, who has been awful this season.

Waldichuk has a 7.02 ERA over eight starts and has allowed right-handed hitters to slash .322/.402/.616.

Essentially, righty batters have been Aaron Judge against him.

It could be a short outing tonight for Waldichuk in Houston.

Randal Grichuk OVER 0.5 Home Runs +480, Unibet (Wager: 1 unit to win 4.8 units)

Dating back to last season, the former Blue Jays outfielder has mashed against lefty pitchers to the tune of a .613 SLG%.

Grichuk will square off against Rangers lefty Martin Perez, who has given up seven dingers to righty batters in 2023.

Grichuk only has one home run on the season, but it did come against a southpaw.

I’m willing to take a flier on the Rockies outfielder in this matchup.

-Rob Wong (@RobWong34)

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