Betting on player futures requires a number of things. First and foremost, you need to properly gauge a player's likelihood of staying healthy, which can work for or against you depending on whether you've taken an Over or Under. You need to be able to account for trends in a player's performance, and whether there's a major change in performance level on the horizon. You also need no small amount of luck on your side. 

Baseball's a particularly tricky sport to pull this off with. While player performance levels are relatively sticky year-to-year -- we can pretty safely assume that Bryce Harper is going to be a menace, for instance -- things can be pretty volatile at a smaller scale. Yes, Harper's going to be a menace, but exactly how many homers is he going to hit? What will the lineup around him be like? How will the other hitters perform, and how willing will pitchers be to throw to him? 

Moreover, the sportsbooks have gotten better at setting their lines. You're not the only one checking out what the projections on sites like FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus look like -- the oddsmakers are too. 

That all being said, I've found four plays that I'm rather fond of. Take everything with a pinch of salt and do your own research, and know that one month-long stay on the IL could derail a pick.

Before you make any bets on MLB player totals, you need to see what SportsLine senior editor Nick Stellini is backing. Stellini worked as a baseball writer for outlets including Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, Sporting News, The Athletic and NBC Sports before joining SportsLine. He's had his finger on the pulse of the sport for years. 

Now Stellini has shared his 2025 MLB player totals picks. Be sure to check out his plays before locking in any of your own.

Which MLB player totals make for the best bets? And which under-the-radar plays could provide big value? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the MLB player totals betting strategy from SportsLine's expert!