I’m looking to take advantage of Coors Field and have plays on two starting pitchers in today’s top MLB prop picks.
Today’s MLB props narrative: The Rockies’ offence has been abysmal, but the club is at its hitter-friendly home park and facing an unimposing hurler. I’m targeting one of its hottest bats to do damage.
Check out the best MLB prop bets for Wednesday, May 21, featuring plays on Ryan McMahon, Jacob deGrom and Jack Kochanowicz.
MLB prop bets
Best bet: deGrom over 15.5 outs (-112)
We haven’t seen prime New York Mets deGrom this season but he remains an upper-tier arm.
deGrom still possesses elite velocity, piles up Ks and doesn’t walk many batters. His numbers are excellent:
- 2.29 ERA (10th in MLB)
- 0.98 WHIP (10th)
- 5.5 BB% (17th)
- 26.6 K% (19th)
He’s coming off back-to-back 90-plus-pitch outings for the first time this season and worked eight frames in his last start, his best of the season.
While the Texas Rangers will likely stay somewhat cautious with deGrom, they aren’t handling the two-time Cy Young winner with kid gloves.
The New York Yankees have the best offence in baseball — they lead in wRC+, OBP and home runs — but this line isn’t asking deGrom to go into the Bronx and fire seven innings.
You have to wonder if the Rangers’ bullpen factors in a couple of extra outs for deGrom as long as he’s keeping Texas in the ballgame.
These teams have a quick turnaround tomorrow, playing at 12:35 p.m. ET, and the Rangers aren’t off until May 29.
Key stat: deGrom has allowed two runs or fewer in six straight starts, clearing this line four times.
Best MLB picks
McMahon over 0.5 RBI (+163): I want nothing to do with the Rockies at home against the Philadelphia Phillies. But I also want nothing to do with Taijuan Walker.
This game has a huge total of 11.5. If you want in on Phillies props, you’ll be paying a premium price.
Colorado is terrible, though McMahon makes sense as a target.
As the projected cleanup bat, he’ll at least have some competent hitters ahead of him. That includes Ezequiel Tovar, who just returned from a month-long absence.
McMahon has team-best numbers in May in homers (four), average (.322) and OPS (1.047).
And he’s taken advantage of his home park this season:
- 5 of his 6 bombs
- .282/.416/.535 line
- Team-leading .951 OPS
This is a great price, and I don’t trust Walker at Coors.
Walker comes in with a 2.62 ERA, but he’s been a punching bag the last two seasons. The righty isn’t a big K guy, walks too many batters and couldn’t keep the ball in the yard last year.
Kochanowicz under 17.5 outs (-112): Kochanowicz gets the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, the most hitter-friendly stadium in MLB this year, per Baseball Savant.
The Athletics have a 110 wRC+ at home and rank in the top 10 in ISO vs. right-handers.
This is a tough matchup for any arm, let alone a wild one who doesn’t miss bats.
Perhaps the lack of whiffs helped Kochanowicz work deep last season (he was 8-1 against this line from August on), but he also wasn’t missing the zone the same way he is now.
- The righty has walked four batters in three of his last four starts and is hitting this outs prop at a below-50% rate.
- Kochanowicz’s 3.3 K-BB% is the worst mark among starting pitchers and does not paint the picture of someone who can be trusted in a difficult environment.
The Angels are in the middle of a tough stretch and aren’t off for another week. But they’ve been getting good length out of their starters, making this a clear fade spot for me.
MLB prop picks made at 1:40 p.m. ET on 05/21/2025.
Chris joined NorthStar Gaming from Covers.com where he was a publishing editor and wrote betting content. Before that, he was the sports editor at VICE Canada, worked for theScore and covered the Blue Jays for MLB.com. In addition to filling out the lineup card each day for the editorial team, Chris writes frequently himself, primarily on the NBA and MLB.