Starting pitchers Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal headline my best playoff props for the start of MLB’s postseason action on Tuesday.
Today’s MLB props narrative: The big lefties are rolling into the postseason and I expect them to deliver as Game 1 favourites. I’m also backing veteran Alex Bregman at Yankee Stadium.
Check out my best MLB prop bets for Game 1 of the 2025 wild-card series.
MLB prop bets
Best bet: Snell over 15.5 outs (+110)
It should surprise no one if Snell is the best starting pitcher this postseason. I’m not predicting that, but he’s that good.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lefty has a tasty Game 1 matchup against the 83-win Cincinnati Reds, who have more like a 73-win offence.
This team snuck into the playoffs on the last day of the season and got little out of its best player, Elly De La Cruz, for much of the second half.
This is not an imposing lineup. Have a look yourself:
- Cincinnati’s offence was well below league average vs. lefties, ranking 26th in wRC+. The Reds were 23rd in wRC+ in September and 24th for the entire season.
- They had a .124 ISO against LHPs, better than only two teams and the worst mark among the playoff clubs.
The worry is that Snell runs up a high pitch count with strikeouts and walks — two things he does a lot of — but I feel good about his ability to limit damage against this group.
- Snell posted a 2.35 ERA, the second-best FIP of his career (2.70), and he rarely gets taken deep.
- He has elite swing-and-miss stuff to get himself out of jams, ranking in the 96th percentile in whiff rate and 95th in chase rate (per Baseball Savant). Snell’s ability to punch out batters over the last several seasons is as good as any starter.
The southpaw ended his season with a 28:5 K/BB mark over his final three starts, completing six-plus innings each time out.
He missed four months before coming back in August, clearing this line in six of his final seven starts.
Snell eclipsed the 100-pitch mark in two of his September outings and has been excellent throughout his postseason career.
Key stat: The left-hander has a 1.17 ERA in seven starts at Dodger Stadium.
MLB postseason player props
Bregman to score a run (+150): It’s unclear where Bregman will slot in the lineup, but he will almost certainly occupy a top-three spot after primarily batting No. 2 for Boston this season.
New York Yankees starter Max Fried is excellent but he’s not Garrett Crochet, and that’s especially true with his swing-and-miss ability.
Bregman slumped toward the end of the season, but he doesn’t strike out much. He was fantastic vs. left-handers, he has pop and he’s got a ton of postseason experience.
That combination gives me confidence in Bregman, who has a .346 career on-base percentage in the playoffs. And this year, he recorded his best batting average and slugging percentage since the 2019 season.
The veteran can hit his way on and draw free passes, evidenced by the .319/.421/.434 line he compiled against southpaws.
Best MLB picks
Skubal over 18.5 outs (+125): The actual best starter in the postseason is probably Skubal, who gets an opponent he faced four times in the regular season and handled each time.
- Skubal was 2-2 vs. this line against the Cleveland Guardians but went at least 6.0 innings every outing.
- He held the Guardians to a 0.64 ERA and .165 opponent batting average.
- Skubal ended his year with back-to-back six-inning starts vs. Cleveland but was 7-2 against this beefy line coming out of the all-star break.
Progressive Field is a good pitching environment and today’s weather isn’t expected to aid offence in any way.
The Detroit Tigers’ bullpen has been miserable and overworked this month, making this a situation where the club should look to ride its horse in a pivotal Game 1.
Detroit only gets Skubal once this series, so there’s no worry about preserving his arm for a potential do-or-die Game 3 on Thursday.
MLB prop picks made at 8:20 a.m. ET on 09/30/2025.
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.