How and where to bet MLB player props picks, odds for Aug. 15: Zack Wheeler among best bets for Friday
The Inside the Lines team is up over 55 units on its nightly MLB home run bets and has also revealed its top MLB player props for Friday

The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from tying the longest winning streak of the 2025 MLB. The Brewers, who have the best record in baseball at 76-44, enter Friday as the winners of 12 straight heading into a series against the Cincinnati Reds. They've scored at least seven runs in five straight games with 26 runs scored over their last two contests, as Milwaukee offensive players have been strong options to get behind when making MLB player props bets. While the Brewers have been reliable lately, Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler has been a dominant presence for years in baseball, and on Friday, the SportsLine Inside the Lines team has Wheeler's Over 7.5 strikeouts as one of its best bets for Friday MLB player props. If you're interested in MLB betting and wish to use the best sportsbook promos to wager on MLB props on Aug. 15, check out all available offers below:
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It enters Week 21 of the 2025 MLB season a profitable 31-23 on top-rated MLB money-line picks. It has excelled in making home run prop picks this season, returning over 55 units of profit. Anybody following its MLB betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns. Also see the model's top home run picks for Friday.
Best Friday MLB player prop picks for Friday, Aug. 15:
- Zack Wheeler, Phillies, Over 7.5 strikeouts (+100)
- Elly De La Cruz, Reds, Over 0.5 stolen bases (+425)
- Jacob deGrom, Rangers, Over 5.5 strikeouts (+100)
Sportsbook promos for MLB player props on Friday, Aug. 15
The latest FanDuel promo code offers new users $300 in bonus bets if their first $5 wager wins while the bet365 bonus code gives new users $150 in bonus bets when they make an initial wager of $5 or more. The latest DraftKings promo code offers users $200 in bonus bets instantly + $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket.
The BetMGM bonus code and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code also dole out bonus bets but in a different way. BetMGM covers a user's first bet for up to $1,500 in bonus bets but users have to wager at least $1,500 to be eligible for the entire amount. Fanatics gives users up to $1,000 in FanCash, but they'll need to wager $100 each day for 10 consecutive days to be eligible for the full amount.
The Caesars Sportsbook promo code awards profit boosts instead of bonus bets. The sportsbook is providing 10 100% profit boosts to users after they wager $1 or more.
Best MLB player props on Friday
For more real-time, free sportsbook picks every day: Inside the Lines Blog.
Zack Wheeler, Phillies, Over 7.5 strikeouts (+100, Caesars)
Wheeler gets the start against the Natonals in Washington, and although the Phillies ace hasn't been as strikeout dominant on the road as home (7.4 strikeouts per game on the road compared to nine at home), the model projects Wheeler for 7.6 strikeouts on Friday. Given the chance to play Wheeler at plus-money odds at his projection creates value for the ITL team. Wheeler has at least eight strikeouts in eight of his last 10 starts, and he had eight strikeouts over six innings in Washington on Opening Day. He is second in baseball at 189 strikeouts and is averaging 8.2 strikeouts per start this season. Caesars Sportsbook is offering Wheeler at Over 7.5 strikeouts at +100 odds, while the majority of other sportsbooks have him at minus-money odds at 7.5 strikeouts, and the latest Caesars Sportsbook promo code gives new users 10 (ten) 100% profit boosts with a $1 bet.
Elly De La Cruz, Reds, Over 0.5 stolen bases (+425)
Cruz is tied for fifth in baseball with 31 stolen bases, and if the Reds are going to knock off the Brewers and their 12-game winning streak, they are going to need to be aggressive with any edge they can get. Cruz had two stolen bases in his last game against the Brewers, so he's not afraid to run against Milwaukee. He's had at least one hit in six of his last eight games, providing the opportunity to swipe a bag. Cruz led the MLB with 67 stolen bases last season, as the 23-year-old is one of the most athletic players in baseball. Cruz has +425 odds to steal a base on DraftKings, and the latest DraftKings promo code provides $200 in bonus bets instantly after your first wager of $5 or more and over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket:
Jacob deGrom, Rangers, Over 5.5 strikeouts (+100, FanDuel)
The 37-year-old has been pitching more like the former two-time Cy Young winner as opposed to the pitcher who hasn't been able to remain healthy over the last five years for the majority of the 2025 MLB season, and the model expects another strong showing from deGrom on Friday. The model projects deGrom for 6.05 strikeouts, and loves the chance to play another plus-money strikeout Over at his projection. Even though deGrom hasn't been as dominant lately with a 6.88 ERA over his last three starts, he still had at least eight strikeouts in two of those outings. DeGrom has at least six strikeouts in nine of his last 11 starts. FanDuel is offering this play at +100 odds, and the latest FanDuel promo code gives new users $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet or more wins.
MLB Home Run, Stolen Base, Strikeout 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.
Zack Wheeler's road vs home strikeout split average is striking with 9 at home vs 'just' 7.4 on the road. Our projection of 7.6 at Washington reflects this. At a normal -110 to -120 price we would not have value, but in this case you can get +105 at both bet365 and Caesars early this am. He had 7 his last start at Texas but comes in 8-2 over 7.5 Ks.
RANK | HR | SB | K |
8/15 | PLAYER | HR PROJ | PROP LINE | PLAYER | SB PROJ | PROP LINE | STARTER | K PROJ |
1 | Eugenio Suarez (SEA) | 0.428 | +134 | Jose Caballero (NYY) | 0.31 | +223 | Zack Wheeler (PHI) | 7.6 |
2 | Cal Raleigh (SEA) | 0.323 | +210 | Elly De La Cruz (CIN) | 0.302 | +231 | MacKenzie Gore (WAS) | 6.15 |
3 | Kyle Schwarber (PHI) | 0.314 | +218 | Chandler Simpson (TB) | 0.3 | +233 | Yusei Kikuchi (LAA) | 6.11 |
4 | Ketel Marte (ARI) | 0.295 | +239 | Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHC) | 0.282 | +255 | Jacob deGrom (TEX) | 6.05 |
5 | Manny Machado (SD) | 0.285 | +251 | Zach Neto (LAA) | 0.278 | +260 | Framber Valdez (HOU) | 5.92 |
6 | Aaron Judge (NYY) | 0.27 | +270 | Jose Ramirez (CLE) | 0.269 | +272 | Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) | 5.87 |
7 | Riley Greene (DET) | 0.262 | +282 | Bobby Witt (KC) | 0.266 | +276 | Luis Gil (NYY) | 5.64 |
8 | Mike Trout (LAA) | 0.249 | +302 | Victor Scott (STL) | 0.261 | +283 | Charlie Morton (DET) | 5.62 |
9 | Kyle Stowers (MIA) | 0.247 | +305 | Luis Robert (CHW) | 0.256 | +291 | Joey Cantillo (CLE) | 5.62 |
10 | Byron Buxton (MIN) | 0.247 | +305 | Brice Turang (MIL) | 0.248 | +303 | Sean Manaea (NYM) | 5.49 |
11 | Brent Rooker (ATH) | 0.244 | +310 | Xavier Edwards (MIA) | 0.247 | +305 | Luis Castillo (SEA) | 5.48 |
12 | Corbin Carroll (ARI) | 0.241 | +315 | Trea Turner (PHI) | 0.247 | +305 | Noah Cameron (KC) | 5.28 |
13 | Shohei Ohtani (LAD) | 0.238 | +320 | Corbin Carroll (ARI) | 0.237 | +322 | Chris Bassitt (TOR) | 5.1 |
14 | Kerry Carpenter (DET) | 0.233 | +329 | Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD) | 0.231 | +333 | Lucas Giolito (BOS) | 4.99 |
15 | Christian Yelich (MIL) | 0.228 | +339 | Ha-seong Kim (TB) | 0.226 | +342 | Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) | 4.91 |
16 | Junior Caminero (TB) | 0.227 | +341 | Jasrado Chisholm (NYY) | 0.225 | +344 | Brandon Young (BAL) | 4.72 |
17 | Jose Ramirez (CLE) | 0.227 | +341 | Maikel Garcia (KC) | 0.22 | +355 | Sandy Alcantara (MIA) | 4.68 |
18 | Corey Seager (TEX) | 0.226 | +342 | Randy Arozarena (SEA) | 0.219 | +357 | Jack Perkins (ATH) | 4.63 |
19 | Randy Arozarena (SEA) | 0.224 | +346 | CJ Abrams (WAS) | 0.217 | +361 | Landen Roupp (SF) | 4.6 |
20 | Juan Soto (NYM) | 0.22 | +355 | Jarren Duran (BOS) | 0.2 | +400 | Joe Boyle (TB) | 4.6 |
---- |
More MLB picks for Friday
You've seen the model's MLB HR prop picks for several players on Friday. 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 a 96-86-1 roll (+1691) on MLB picks.
Responsible gaming
Responsible gaming is important at all sportsbooks and they offer plenty of tools for users to practice gaming responsibly. These include setting deposit limits, taking timeouts and using self-exclusion measures. Some sportsbook platforms have live chat features for users to get in touch with support. All sportsbooks have contact information for state and national helplines for those who need additional assistance.