Free MLB player props, odds for August 6: Use Elly De La Cruz and Nick Kurtz in Wednesday MLB props

The Athletics were the highest-scoring team in the MLB on Tuesday, racking up 16 runs in their win over the Nationals. Catcher Shea Langeliers homered three times, while star rookie Nick Kurtz went 3-for-4 and walked twice. Kurtz leads the Athletics with 23 home runs this season, and he is +333 to go yard against the Nationals in the Wednesday MLB odds. He is facing Washington pitcher Cade Cavalli, who is making his first big-league start since 2022. 

SportsLine's model is backing Kurtz to hit a home run with its Wednesday MLB prop picks, along with Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz to steal a base (+265) and Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman to record more than 5.5 strikeouts (+125). When it comes to MLB betting, MLB player props are a great way to find value at online sports betting sites. With MLB props available for almost every player in every game at sportsbooks, SportsLine's proven computer model can help you find value to add to your MLB prop picks. They can also help new users take advantage of the best sportsbook promos like the latest Fanatics Sportsbook promo code, where new users can get 10x $100 No Sweat Bets in FanCash:

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It entered Week 19 of the 2025 MLB season a profitable 27-22 on top-rated MLB money-line picks. It has excelled in making home run prop picks this season, returning nearly 50 units of profit. Anybody following its MLB picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns. 

Best Wednesday MLB player prop picks:

• Nick Kurtz, Athletics, over 0.5 home runs (+333 at BetMGM). Bet at BetMGM and get up to $1,500 in bonus bets back if your first bet loses. 
  
• Elly De La Cruz, Reds, over 0.5 stolen bases (+265 at bet365). Bet at bet365 and get $150 in bonus bets instantly. 
  
• Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays, over 5.5 strikeouts (+125 at Caesars). Bet at Caesars and get ten 100% profit boosts.

Nick Kurtz, Athletics, over 0.5 home runs (+333)

Kurtz is riding a four-game hitting streak and has increased his batting average to .311 during his impressive rookie season. He has not homered since his four-homer game against the Astros on July 25, but he has an ideal opportunity to go yard on Wednesday. Cavalli has a 9.00 ERA over his last six starts in Triple-A Rochester, and the model has Kurtz at +168 to homer in that matchup. You can bet this prop at BetMGM, where you can get up to $1,500 in bonus bets back if your first bet loses: 

Elly De La Cruz, Reds, over 0.5 stolen bases (+265)

De La Cruz leads the Reds in hits (122), home runs (19), RBI (73) and stolen bases (30) this season, causing all sorts of problems for opponents. He stole a base against the Braves on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, and he swiped four bags in an eight-game stretch at the end of July. The Reds are facing the Cubs at hitter-friendly Wrigley Field on Wednesday night, so the model has De La Cruz at +202 to provide value on this line. This prop is available at bet365, where new users can get $150 in bonus bets instantly: 

Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays, over 5.5 strikeouts (+125)

Gausman enters Wednesday's game against the Rockies with 127 strikeouts in 22 starts this season, averaging 5.7 per start. However, Colorado has struck out the second-most of any team in baseball, so Gausman is expected to exceed his season average in this particular matchup. He had eight strikeouts against the Yankees on July 21 before striking out 10 batters against the Tigers on July 26, and the model has him projected to strike out 6.03 Rockies on Wednesday. This prop is available at Caesars, where new users can get ten 100% profit boosts:

MLB HR, stolen base, strikeouts prop cheat sheet

The SportsLine Model was developed and is powered by the Inside the Lines team. You can find all of the team's picks and content at our blog, which has all our personal best bets for free. The system is simple. We take the strongest SportsLine Model projected values vs the best available prices at the time we publish our content. In most cases, lines move in 'our direction' so you should bookmark the blog, follow us on social, and make it a habit of checking for updates throughout the day to maximize your expected value. 

The table below shows today's projected leading Home Run, Stolen Base and Strikeout Leaders. We include the projection and for HRs and SBs the money line we'd set for YES HR/SB. You can use this cheat sheet to compare it to your book's line and if your book's line is significantly higher than ours (and you like the player) then you would want to consider that bet. 

Aaron Judge struck out twice and did not hit a HR in his return. Our model has virtually the same projected line as yesterday. The best line for Judge Yes HR was in the +265 range but it's fallen to as low as +210. Oddsmakers and/or early betting action must assume 'he's due'. Tyler Soderstrom is just below Judge at #7 but despite not having a HR in 9 games he's not getting any of the 'he's due' treatment with bet365 offering +575. Soderstrom is typically priced around +450.

Sometimes  you'll have to shop around for a great value. Elly De La Cruz is our number SB at a model price of +202. FanDuel is only paying up +198 so he is not a good value on America's number 1 sportsbook. But bet365 is offering a tantalizing +265 so he is a solid stolen base value on that book.

More MLB picks for Wednesday

You've seen the model's MLB props for several players on Wednesday. Now, get MLB projections for every player prop at SportsLine.

Need more from SportsLine? See today's best MLB picks from SportsLine's Bruce Marshall, who is on an 81-71-1 roll (+1623) on MLB picks.