2024 MLB Best Prop Bets So Far: Back Hicks, Ohtani

I've been combing through the best prop bets every day for the first month and a bit of the 2024 MLB season.

I've been writing hit, homer, strikeout, and total base props here at Odds Shark's MLB section, trying to get on a hot streak. I'll admit it, I've had my share of both winning and losing days. But, now's also the time in the season when I really hone in on what's working.

Here are my three favorite MLB prop betting trends so far this campaign:

My Favorite 2024 MLB Props 

These aren't exactly the three most-profitable betting props so far this season, but they're money makers that I think have a decent shot of continuing, at least until the books really start to adjust:

Shohei Ohtani Hit Props

Record: 31-7
Unit Profit: +6.78

Did we all forget that Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player on the planet? Sure, he's not pitching this year, but the guy can still mash. AND, he gets to focus only on hitting this year, and it's resulting in career highs in batting average and OPS, so far.

There are many different ways to bet on the Dodgers slugger (I’d be taking the overs in anything) but the best way so far this year have been over 0.5 hits every day. The sportsbooks know Ohtani is great, so the average line for him to get at least one hit has been way down at -260. But, that line isn’t low enough. If you bet on an Ohtani hit in every game this year, you’d be up nearly seven units.

Until Ohtani's over 0.5 hit lines get below -300, it's an easy wager every game. You can also take your shot at over 1.5 hit lines, too, as Ohtani has had double-digit hits in 16 of his 38 games.

Tim Anderson Hit Prop Unders

Record: 19-16
Unit Profit: +5.0

From a savant to a struggler, Tim Anderson's hit unders have been almost as good as Ohtani's overs this year. This shouldn't be entirely shocking, as Anderson is hitting .237 over the last two seasons. But, the sportsbooks haven't quite caught up to the demise of the former MLB batting average leader.

The average line for under 0.5 hits for Anderson has been sitting around +150, despite it happening MORE than 50% of the time so far this year. If you want to hone in even more, I'd bet under 0.5 hits for every Anderson game against right-handed pitching, for sure. He's been a bit closer to league average against southpaws, but Anderson's hitting just .164 against righties this season — that's an easy under 0.5 hits bet.

Anderson also has just three extra-base hits on the season, so hammering the under on his total base hits is probably a smart play, too.

jordan Hicks Strikeout Overs

Record: 5-3
Unit Profit: +1.54

Jordan Hicks has made the move from reliever to starter this year, and it's going pretty damn well. He's rocking a 2.30 ERA win his first eight starts and has hit his strikeout over five times, too.

I've been tracking this over for his last few outings, and the books haven't moved his strikeout line up past 4.5 Ks per game. As long as they keep it at 4.5 or 5.5, this is an easy over bet for me for nearly every Hicks start.

If you're not quite as sold on the blind bet, I specifically love Hicks to hit his strikeout overs against teams prone to the Ks (naturally). I'd go look at team strikeout rate leaderboards at a site like FanGraphs, and if Hicks is playing against a team in the bottom five or ten in that ranking, hammer the over.

Hicks has made three starts against teams currently in the bottom-five in MLB strikeout rate (2 vs COL, 1 vs PIT) and gone over 4.5 Ks in each of those outings.