How and where to bet MLB player prop picks, odds for Aug. 23: Garrett Crochet among best bets

Saturday has another full 15-game MLB schedule, with notable rivalries ongoing like the Yankees hosting the Red Sox, the Mets visiting the Braves and the Dodgers and Padres fighting for the top spot in the NL West in San Diego. There's no shortage of MLB betting choices to make at the top sportsbooks on Saturday.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It enters Week 21 of the 2025 MLB season at a profitable 31-23 on top-rated MLB money-line picks. The Inside the Lines team has locked in on its most favorable props for Saturday's games. Here are some of their best plays.

Best MLB player prop for Saturday, Aug. 23

• Garrett Crochet Under 7.5 total strikeouts

Sportsbook promos for MLB player props on Saturday, Aug. 23

The DraftKings promo code is offering both $200 in bonus bets to new users as well as over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV. The bet365 bonus code also gives new users $200 in bonus bets whether their first bet wins or loses. The FanDuel promo code is for $300 in bonus bets after a first bet of $5 or more, but that first bet must win.

The BetMGM bonus code allows users to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if their first bet wins.  The Fanatics Sportsbook promo code also gives users bonus bets for losing first bets, but it gives users a $100 No Sweat Bet for every NFL or college football weekend game day through Oct. 12.

Instead of bonus bets, the Caesars Sportsbook promo code gives 20 100% profit boosts to users who place a first bet of $1 or more after signing up.

Best MLB prop on Saturday

Garrett Crochet Under 7.5 strikeouts 

Despite a high 7.25 projection for Garrett Crochet's strikeouts, the model still recommends fading him with the Under available at +105 on both DraftKings and bet365. Crochet has been averaging a dominant 8.1 strikeouts (8-5 Over 7.5) in road starts this season but has only five, five and seven over his last three road starts, all of which were shorter outings (4 IP, 6 IP, 5 IP). His K per innings rate and K/BB ratio were both significantly better with the White Sox last season, but his average innings pitched per start is up from 4.6 to 6.4 with Boston. The model is favoring the underdog Yankees and has Crochet going 5.9 innings. His Under hinges on the Yankees getting him to have a fourth straight road outing with no more than six innings pitched.  

Check out the SportsLine Projection Model's full slate of predictions and prop leans for this game, as well as expert picks for tonight's MLB slate.

MLB home runs, stolen bases, strikeouts cheat sheet

The SportsLine Projection 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.