3 Best MLB Player Props to Back on August 26: Vargas, Crow-Armstrong, and Carroll

Wednesday’s MLB slate is loaded with prop angles, but three stand out above the noise for very different reasons. One is a DraftKings parlay leg backing a guy who’s quietly having a monster power season. Another is the most efficient total-bases machine in baseball right now. And the third is a plus-money RBI number that sharp models are all over. Mix a home run prop, a total bases prop, and an RBI prop together and you get a genuinely fun three-pick slate that doesn’t lean on just one stat category.

Here’s the best of the board for Wednesday, regardless of what type of prop it is — just the strongest angles we could find.

Miguel Vargas Is a Featured Leg in DraftKings’ “Yard Work” Parlay

Miguel Vargas has been one of the quietest power stories in the American League all year, and DraftKings noticed — he’s the headline name in Wednesday’s “Yard Work” home run parlay, paired with Willson Contreras, at combined odds of +2352. Vargas enters the day with 29 home runs, tied for 11th in all of MLB, to go with 75 RBI, a .248 average, and an .856 OPS in 480 at-bats. That’s a real breakout season for a guy who spent parts of the last two years bouncing between the majors and Triple-A.

The power has been especially loud in August — Vargas has gone deep six times in his last 18 games, adding 10 RBI and 14 runs scored in that span. He’s also been noticeably better away from home, hitting .265 with 10 homers on the road compared to .202 with six at home, which lines up well tonight since he’s still catching Texas at home in Chicago but has shown he can turn on velocity from either side of the ball. Tonight’s matchup against the Rangers pits him against a Texas staff that’s given up plenty of hard contact in August, and Vargas has already found the seats twice in the last five games against this exact opponent stretch. If you’re looking for value on a player prop, “1+ Home Run” at plus-money is the number to target here.

Pete Crow-Armstrong Leads MLB in Total Bases for a Reason

If there’s one player on this list who should not be a surprise, it’s Pete Crow-Armstrong. He leads all of MLB in total bases with 279 on the season, powered by 33 home runs, 83 RBI, and a .930 OPS that reads more like an MVP candidate’s line than a 24-year-old center fielder’s. DraftKings tabbed him as the headliner of Wednesday’s “Base Collectors” total bases parlay, joining Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, and Byron Buxton in a four-leg build at +1886 where each player needs 2+ total bases to cash.

The recent workload backs it up. Crow-Armstrong posted five total bases on August 23 and four more on August 21, and over his last 10 games heading into this stretch he’d racked up 30 total bases at a clip of better than 0.7 bases per at-bat. His season average sits at 2.11 total bases per game, comfortably clearing the 1.5 line books are hanging on him for this matchup with Arizona. He did get shut out in his last look at the Diamondbacks on August 24, but that came right before this current form, and a hitter running this hot doesn’t go cold for long. The over 1.5 total bases number is priced close to even money, and with his season-long production, that’s the right side.

Corbin Carroll’s RBI Prop Is Sitting at Plus-Money for a Reason

Corbin Carroll doesn’t hit for the gaudy average this season — he’s at .251 with an .841 OPS through 128 games — but the underlying pop is real, with 18 home runs, 58 RBI, and a .490 slugging percentage. Wednesday’s matchup against the Cubs and left-hander Matthew Boyd sets up as a spot where Carroll’s RBI Over 0.5 prop is getting real value, priced around +187 depending on the book, with FantasyTeamAdvice’s model projecting him to cover that number roughly 66% of the time.

Carroll has been streaky in the RBI column lately, which is exactly why the plus-money price exists — he’s driven in a run in just a handful of his last 10 games. But volume matters here: Arizona’s lineup has been getting on base in front of him against left-handed pitching, and Boyd has had stretches this season where he’s left pitches over the plate to left-handed bats. When Carroll connects, he tends to do damage rather than settle for a single, and one well-struck ball with a runner on is all it takes to cash this number. At close to 2-to-1 odds, this is the kind of plus-money prop that rewards patience if you’re building a card around value rather than chalk.

Today’s Edge

Three different prop types, three different reasons to like them — that’s the beauty of building a card off the best available value instead of forcing everything into one stat category. Vargas is a power bat heating up at the right time, Crow-Armstrong is the most productive hitter in baseball by total bases, and Carroll offers plus-money value most bettors will overlook. If you want to shop these numbers around before locking anything in, checking a DraftKings promo code is a good place to start since two of these three picks are already featured in DraftKings-built parlays today.

• Miguel Vargas OVER 0.5 Home Runs (part of DraftKings “Yard Work” parlay, +2352)
• Pete Crow-Armstrong OVER 1.5 Total Bases (part of DraftKings “Base Collectors” parlay, +1886)
• Corbin Carroll OVER 0.5 RBI (+187)

Whether you play these straight or mix them into your own build, all three come backed by real season-long trends — not just a hot week that’s about to cool off.