The World Baseball Classic has been spectacular this year, with plenty of power packing the lineups and balls flying out of stadiums, resulting in many electric celebrations. Group play continues on Monday, with three games in the afternoon and three games under the lights. Let’s take a look at the three nighttime matchups and pick out some fun home run props to attack on DraftKings Sportsbook. My top three options for Monday include plays from Nolan Arenado, Eugenio Suarez, and Jonathan Aranda.
Monday’s three evening games include Cuba at Puerto Rico, Venezuela at Nicaragua, and Mexico at Team USA in the marquee matchup of the night, with the first pitch at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Top World Baseball Classic Home Run Props
Nolan Arenado 1+ Home Run (+600)
Arenado and Puerto Rico face off with Cuba in a matchup of the two teams at the top of Pool A. Both teams are 2-0 after Puerto Rico won in a dramatic walk-off homer on Saturday. Arenado has hit in the heart of the order for PR, but he has gone 0-for-6 with an RBI in the two games so far. He should be in a good matchup on Monday, though, facing Cuban lefty Julio Robaina. Robaina pitched for the Kansas City Monarchs in the American Association independent league last season after a strong season in the Mexican League.
Throughout his career, Arenado has crushed lefties, and even in the last few years he’s continued to hit lefties well. He has plenty of WBC experience from his runs with Team USA and is a good value play to go deep in this contest against Robaina and the Cubans.
Eugenio Suarez 1+ Home Run (+225)
Venezuela is 2-0 coming into their Monday night matchup with 0-3 Nicaragua. Nicaragua has given up 21 runs to the Netherlands, Israel and the Dominican Republic so far this WBC and will give the ball to lefty Danilo Bermudez. Bermudez has played in the Nicaraguan Winter League for the last five years, giving up 26 earned runs in 27 2/3 innings and four home runs.
Suarez hit 13 of his 49 homers last season against lefties this past season. He brings some experienced power to the heart of the order, and he homered and went 2-for-4 in his first game in the WBC on Saturday after not playing on Friday against the Netherlands.
Jonathan Aranda 1+ Home Run (+425)
The final game of the night is the marquee matchup of Group B, as Team USA sends Paul Skenes to the mound to try to silence Mexico. Both teams are 2-0 after beating Brazil and Great Britain. Mexico has outscored those two teams 24-2, while Team USA has outscored them 24-6. Both teams have plenty of recognizable names and many power options, but I’m going with a value play and passing on all the Team USA power with short odds. Instead, I’m chasing Aranda at +425.
Team USA pitchers have been vulnerable to homers in their two games, and Aranda has been hitting it very well for Mexico, going 3-for-8 with a homer and four RBI. His homer on Friday was key in the team’s win over Great Britain:
While the Team USA bullpen is stacked and the matchup with Skenes is obviously a tough one, Aranda has been strong enough to still be a solid value play as Mexico tries to pull off the ultimate upset.
