Major League Baseball is back to fill the next several months with plenty of exciting action on the diamond, and it’s time to step back into the box and swing for the fences with some home run props. On Saturday, all 30 teams are scheduled to be in action for the first time this season. Eight games are scheduled for the afternoon with seven more games under the lights. Let’s take a look at the available options from all across the matchups and find some juicy home run props to play on DraftKings Sportsbook for this Saturday.
By their nature, home run props are long-shot plays, but when a player you’ve selected goes yard, it’s an awesome event to celebrate that can also build your bankroll in a hurry. Even the best power hitters are long-shot plays to homer on any single day, though, so it’s important not to be too aggressive. By looking at the matchups, current form, game environment and history, some players stand out as good options. You can play these props individually or choose to combine them in parlay or round robin formats to maximize the potential payout.
Here are my top three home run prop picks on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s beautiful 15-game scoreboard: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jake Bauers and Teoscar Hernandez.
Top MLB Home Run Props
Pete Crow-Armstrong 1+ Home Run (+292)
Let’s start with an afternoon tilt at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs host the Nationals and take on former Cardinal Miles Mikolas. Mikolas signed with the Nats as a free agent to provide veteran depth to their rotation, but he doesn’t have overpowering stuff and pitches to contact a lot. He went 8-11 with a 4.84 ERA and 5.03 FIP in 31 starts last year, allowing 29 homers and a barrel rate that was within the top one percentile of qualified pitchers. He faced the Cubs once last year and gave up eight runs on six homers in six innings. The weather for that game was extremely favorable to home runs, while Saturday afternoon will be cooler. However, the wind will be out, setting up the Cubs in a good spot.
PCA specifically is an eye-popping 7-for-9 against Mikolas in his career with a double and FIVE home runs. The veteran righty pitches to contact, and the Cubs’ young lefty makes LOUD contact against him. Additionally, PCA has some good form after a big WBC, including some clutch home runs highlighted below. He started the season 2-for-5 on Thursday with a pair of RBIs, and he has a good chance to get his first homer of the season on Saturday afternoon.
Jake Bauers 1+ Home Run (+332)
Staying in the NL Central but moving to the night slate, Jake Bauers is set up to be a key piece for the Brewers early in the season while Jackson Chourio (hand) is on IL. Bauers had an outstanding spring training, going 18-for-39 (.462) with six doubles and seven home runs in 15 games. The 30-year-old lefty stayed hot on Opening Day, depositing this pitch over the wall for a homer in the seventh.
Bauers gets a good matchup again on Saturday night at home in a dome against the White Sox and Sean Burke. Burke went 4-11 with a 4.29 ERA and 4.92 FIP last season, but he was 0-6 with a 4.58 ERA and 5.17 FIP on the road. He gave up 23 homers, and lefties like Bauers hit 12 of those blasts, totaling a .337 wOBA against him overall and a .352 wOBA in his road starts. Adding some Bauers power to your home run props could pay off in Milwaukee on Saturday night.
Teoscar Hernandez 1+ Home Run (+384)
In one of the late games, the Dodgers host the D-backs, looking to take three straight to start the season. They’ll take on WBC hero Eduardo Rodriguez, who went 9-9 with a 5.02 ERA and 4.57 FIP in 29 starts last year for the Diamondbacks. He was better on the road than at home, and he went six shutout innings in his only start against the Dodgers. Hernandez has had plenty of success against E-Rod in the past, though, going 10-for-26 with three doubles and three homers.
This season, he’s only 1-for-7 in the first two games, but the veteran righty was swinging a hot stick in spring training, going 22-for-53 (.449) with five homers in the Cactus League.
