The American League Championship Series kicks off Monday night as the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays open a best-of-seven series at Tropicana Field.
The Guardians erased an 0–2 series deficit to defeat the Chicago White Sox in five games, while the Rays are fresh from a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees.
First pitch from St. Petersburg is at 8 p.m. ET. Tampa enters as a 1.5-run home favorite with -175 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. Cleveland is a +144 underdog, with the game total set at O/U seven runs.
Let’s dive into the top individual player prop bets for Game 1 of the ALCS.
Best MLB Player Props for ALCS Game 1
Drew Rasmussen 6+ Strikeouts (-118)
Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen was an ace — and then some — in Game 1 of the AL Division Series. Facing a potent Yankees offense that had erupted for 18 runs in the Wild Card, the veteran right-hander extinguished their momentum by taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning while racking up 10 strikeouts in the 1–0 win.
The two-time All-Star, 31, is coming off a brilliant 2026 campaign, finishing in MLB’s top 10 in ERA (2.67), WHIP (0.91), and opponent batting average (.198). He also ranked 15th among starters with a 26 percent strikeout rate, recording six or more K’s in 15 of his 30 regular-season starts.
Rasmussen looks poised to carry that dominance into the ALCS. Despite the Guardians’ high-contact approach, he struck out at least six batters in both of his regular-season turns against them. In their latest meeting on July 26 at the Trop, Rasmussen went seven scoreless innings with nine punchouts.
Steven Kwan 2+ Hits + Walks + Stolen Bases (+105)
When push comes to shove, Steven Kwan is one of the toughest outs in baseball. After a sluggish first half, the Guardians outfielder reminded the league of his elite bat-to-ball skills and on-base ability after the All-Star break, leading MLB with a .353 batting average and a .443 on-base percentage during that stretch. Kwan finished the 2026 campaign hitting .282, with the highest walk-to-strikeout ratio among qualified hitters (1.37).
The two-time All-Star, 29, carried his signature unmatched discipline into October, hitting safely in each of Cleveland’s last four games against Chicago. He also registered four walks across the ALDS, including twice in Game 4.
Kwan has a strong chance to reach base multiple times in Game 1 with a matchup he’s historically thrived in. In past meetings with Drew Rasmussen, he’s gone 4-for-12 (.333) with two doubles and a walk. Kwan also has an outside shot at stealing a base; he’s swiped double-digit bags in all five of his MLB seasons.
