MLB Strikeout Prop Bets for Saturday, May 9
Written by: Danny Burke
Last Update: Sat May 09, 2026, 12:46 pm ET
Read Time: 4 minutes
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What's going on, ladies and gentleman? We've made it to Saturday, and have a full slate of baseball on deck.
I'm taking a slightly different approach with today's card by targeting only player props instead of sides and totals. So, below, I have three MLB strikeout prop bets for Saturday, May 9. Let's dive in.
MLB Strikeout Prop Bets for Saturday, May 9
Clay Holmes Over 3.5 Strikeouts (-115)
Down in the desert, the Arizona Diamondbacks play host to the New York Mets, and right-hander Clay Holmes gets the nod for the visitors.
Over Holmes' past two starts, he's racked up six strikeouts in each. On the year, he's averaging 4.4 strikeouts per outing and has eclipsed 3.5 in five of his seven starts.
Additionally, he'll be facing an Arizona team that, since the beginning of April, ranks 23rd in strikeout rate at 22.5%.
For some reason, we're getting Holmes' strikeout prop at a great number with cheap odds attached, so let's take advantage.
Jack Leiter Under 5.5 Strikeouts (-140)
Poor Jack Leiter gets to bring his 5.45 ERA into a matchup against the best team in baseball at the moment, the Chicago Cubs.
Not only is his ERA dreadful, but his 19% HR/FB, 44% hard-hit and 13% barrel marks make matters even more concerning.
Oh, and not to mention that over the past two weeks, the Cubs lead Major League Baseball with an impressive 16.3% strikeout percentage.
Leiter might not have a very long leash in this matchup against a surging Cubs offense, and even if he does, Chicago is disciplined enough at the plate to avoid piling up strikeouts.
Luis Castillo Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-120)
Let's go back to the well with the veteran right-hander, Luis Castillo.
In his last start, we took him over his strikeouts, and he delivered with five. Now, he did give up four earned runs in that game and seven in the one prior, but this could still be a solid buy-low spot on Castillo.
If, and it's certainly an if, he doesn't get pummeled early by this White Sox lineup, then there's no reason he can't rack up at least five strikeouts tonight.
The Chicago White Sox have the second-highest strikeout percentage against righties over the past couple of weeks (25.8%), and even in a larger sample size since the beginning of April, they rank 24th at 22.6%.
Castillo has obviously been underperforming relative to the norm we've grown accustomed to, but perhaps he can find his rhythm against a White Sox club he's historically performed well against. In four starts, he has a 2-0 record, 1.71 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Yes, I'm fully aware those teams and players were different, but it's still worth noting, along with his start against Chicago last year, when he tossed seven innings, allowed three hits and racked up five strikeouts.
MLB Strikeout Props:
MLB Record: 48-43-1 (+0.46 units)
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Danny Burke is a betting analyst with a decade of sports media experience. He got his start at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sharing picks on the local ESPN affiliate. After college, he hosted shows for VSiN in Las Vegas before returning to Chicago to launch 'Rush Hour', the first daily sports betting show from an Illinois casino. He also co-hosted 'Props and Locks' on Fox32’s Bears pregame show and ran 'Bet On, Chicago' on WLS-AM 890.
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