Thanks to a doubleheader, the Major League Baseball schedule for Saturday, May 24, features 16 games. Our experts are all over it with four MLB Best Bets.
Among their MLB picks and predictions for Saturday are two player props and two first five innings (F5) moneyline bets for Royals vs Twins, Blue Jays vs Rays, Guardians vs Tigers and Dodgers vs Mets.
Find our MLB Best Bets and a parlay of our picks below.
MLB Best Bets, Props, Picks, Predictions — 5/24
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our betting staff is targeting from the Saturday MLB games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific MLB prediction.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:05 p.m. | |
  | 7:15 p.m. | |
  | 7:15 p.m. | |
  | 2:10 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Dylan Wilkerson's Royals vs Twins F5 Prediction
The Royals are sending out veteran Michael Wacha to the mound to face the Twins.
Wacha has had success against this Twins lineup, allowing only a .219 xBA and tallying a whiff rate of over 20%. Wacha has also done a great job of avoiding hard-hit balls, as he is in the 83rd percentile for average exit velocity allowed.
The Royals offense gets the opportunity to tee off on Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews, whom the Royals have had success against in the past.
Kansas City's xBA against Matthews is a whopping .348, and the average exit velocity allowed (90 mph) has to be concerning for Twins fans.
Although it is a small sample size, I expect the Royals to jump on Matthews early.
Pick: Royals First Five Innings Moneyline (+100)
| | | |
Dylan Wilkerson's Blue Jays vs Rays Home Run Prop
By Dylan Wilkerson
This matchup is too much to ignore.
Jonathan Aranda shown great improvements this season, and he has had success against Jose Berrios in his career. Berrios is having a rough year and is currently allowing his third-highest average exit velocity in his 10 seasons in MLB.
Aranda's xBA against Berrios is .405, and he has an xSLG of 1.216. He has totaled three home runs against Berrios in only 11 plate appearances.
Aranda hasn't homered since May 13, so why not get back on track for the holiday weekend?
Pick: Jonathan Aranda Over 0.5 Home Runs (+480)
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Charlie Wright's Guardians vs Tigers Pitcher Prop Pick
The Guardians have developed Ortiz into a legitimate strikeout pitcher this season. They've made a few arsenal tweaks and a pitch profile adjustment — the changes have given Ortiz quality options for both righties and lefties.
Ortiz has a career-high 26.5% K%. His 12.8% SwStr% and 29.0% CSW% are his highest since his brief four-start debut in 2022. It's a huge improvement from his 8.8% SwStr% and 24.9% CSW% last season.
Ortiz's fastball performed well in 2024, but he didn't have much else. Since coming to Cleveland, he's added more drop to his slider while maintaining the velocity. The pitch has a massive 42.5% whiff rate.
