Major League Baseball has a busy Friday in store with games spread all throughout the day. Five games start early in the afternoon, five get underway later in the afternoon around 4 p.m. ET, with the final five taking place under the lights. With all 30 teams in action, it’s a massive slate of options for home run props, so let’s take a look at the available options from across the matchups and find some juicy options to play on DraftKings Sportsbook for this Friday.
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 quickly. 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 Friday’s beautiful 15-game scoreboard: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jake Bauers, and Teoscar Hernandez.
Top MLB Home Run Props
Manny Machado 1+ Home Run (+517)
The Red Sox host the Padres in the home opener for Boston in Fenway Park. Although it will be cooler in the 50s, the wind is forecast to be blowing out at 10 miles per hour. Machado knows Fenway well from his time with the Orioles earlier in his career, and the 33-year-old has 10 career homers in 52 games in Boston. He gets a favorable matchup against Sonny Gray, who he is 12-for-35 against in their previous meetings with two doubles and three homers.
Machado doesn’t have a homer yet this season, which is one reason why his odds are a little longer. He is 5-for-19 (.263) with a pair of doubles in the early going this season, and he went 6-for-20 in the WBC for the Dominican Republic, although he did not homer in those six games. In his nine Cactus League games, Machado did swat a pair of homers in spring training, so he still has the power potential as he faces Gray, who gave up four runs on six hits against the Reds in his Red Sox debut.
Brice Matthews 1+ Home Run (+388)
Coors Field is on the afternoon slate, but with the wind blowing in and chilly temperatures, the more favorable spot to target for home run props could be Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, where the Athletics will play their home games for a second straight season. The temps will be in the 70s with a very gentle breeze out to the right.
The A’s will be starting lefty Jeffrey Springs, which will likely mean a start for Astros top prospect Brice Matthews. Matthews still has some swing-and-miss in his approach to iron out, but there’s no questioning his home run power. He hit four homers in just 13 games in the majors last year and already got on the board with this big blast against Boston.
That homer for Matthews came off a lefty, and last year, Springs gave up 25 of his 28 homers allowed to righties like Matthews. Springs also had an elevated 4.81 ERA with a 5.09 FIP at home at Sutter Health Park. It won’t be in full summer mode yet, but Matthews is a great way to attack the environment while still getting solid odds.
Juan Soto 1+ Home Run (+334)
In the final matchup of the day, Soto’s Mets are playing by the Bay against Tyler Mahle and the Giants. The forecast for the game is very offense-friendly with strong winds of almost 20 miles per hour blowing out and temperatures near 70.
The Mets dropped the series opener 7-2, but should be able to bounce back against Mahle, who has struggled to stay healthy for the past several seasons. Soto has had success against Mahle in the past, going 4-for-11 with a pair of home runs against him in their past meetings. After homering twice in six games in the WBC, Soto has started the season 10-for-30 (.333) in his first seven games this season, with two doubles and this home run:
