The World Baseball Classic has gotten off to an amazing start to Group Play, which continues on Saturday with games throughout the afternoon and evening. Baseball’s return this spring also means the return of home runs. The WBC has already given us some memorable big flies in the first few games, and the power display will continue on Saturday. Let’s take a look at the four games starting under the lights on Saturday and spotlight my top three home run prop picks on DraftKings Sportsbook: Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber.
Does this preseason contest really matter to pros making millions of dollars to play baseball for their clubs during the regular season? This home run celebration from Friday’s action speaks for itself:
Top World Baseball Classic Home Run Props
Nolan Arenado 1+ Home Run (+600)
Puerto Rico got a win in their opener on Friday, 5-0 over Colombia. They’re playing at home at Hiram Bithorn Stadium and had a huge home-field advantage on Friday. On Saturday, they’ll face Ariel Jurado and Panama, who lost 3-1 to Cuba in their opener. Jurado is a 30-year-old who last pitched in the majors in 2020 for the Mets. In parts of three seasons in the majors, the right-hander went 12-16 with a 5.97 ERA. Puerto Rico should be able to get some runs off him on Saturday, and Arenado is one of PR’s most experienced WBC bats from his two contests on Team USA.
Arenado hit third on Friday but went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He connected on a home run in his first at-bat in spring training for the Diamondbacks, going 3-for-11 with two doubles and a homer before departing to join Puerto Rico. He still has plenty of pop and brings nice power potential at over 5:1 odds on Saturday.
Willson Contreras 1+ Home Run (+360)
Contreras and his brother, William Contreras, are both part of a pretty stacked Venezuela team that won its opener 6-2 over the Netherlands on Friday. Contreras hit cleanup in the first game for Venezuela, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. The Venezuelans collected 11 hits in the opener with the only homer coming from 23-year-old Javier Sanoja. On Saturday, Contreras should be back in his premium lineup spot against Israel, who will give the ball to young righty Ben Simon.
Simon has worked his way up to Double-A in his three seasons in the Mets’ farm system. He went 5-1 with two saves in 38 games in High-A and Double-A in 2025, compiling a 2.98 ERA. He did serve up four homers in 54 1/3 innings, and he’ll be facing a loaded lineup of MLB talent, including Contreras. Like Arenado, Contreras is playing for a new team this season after being traded to Boston in the offseason. He hit two homers in six games with the Sox before leaving for the WBC and has 20+ homers in four of the last five seasons.
Kyle Schwarber 1+ Home Run (+175)
Let’s close out Saturday’s home run props with a pick from the super stacked Team USA lineup. The Americans will take on Great Britain, which lost its opener to Mexico on Friday. Meanwhile, the USA cruised to a 15-5 win over Brazil, but only team captain Aaron Judge went deep in the contest. The roster overflows with power potential and versatility, but Schwarber seems settled as the DH batting cleanup. In that spot, he should get plenty of chances to smash some Schwarbombs.
On Saturday, he’ll take on starter Tyler Viza for Great Britain. Viza is a 31-year-old righty, which puts Schwarber on the strong side of his splits. Viza bounced around the minors, spending time in the Phillies’, Padres’ and Twins’ systems without making it to the majors. He’s been out of affiliated ball since 2022, when he gave up three homers in 20 1/3 innings on his way to a 7.09 ERA in Triple-A for the St. Paul Saints. It should be a great spot for Schwarber to go yard, after he opened with a pair of hits on Friday.
