Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
Author: Anthony Vlahovic
Last Updated: 15 January, 2025
Home runs are a big part of what drives people to baseball, and there are certainly quite a few guys in the MLB who know a lot about them.
Aaron Judge led the league in 2024 for the second time in three years, and he unsurprisingly opened as the favorite to lead the league again in 2025. However, for as good as Judge has been, there should be another entertaining home run race in 2025, with the number of power hitters across the league. Down below, we’ll look at home run leader odds for the 2025 season across all the top sportsbooks in Maryland.
Player | Opening odds | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Judge | +400 | +400 | +450 | +400 | +300 |
Shohei Ohtani | +700 | +700 | +650 | +700 | +700 |
Kyle Schwarber | +1200 | +1200 | +1000 | +1200 | +1200 |
Fernando Tatis Jr. | +1500 | +1500 | +1600 | +1600 | +1000 |
Pete Alonso | +1800 | +1800 | +1900 | +1800 | +1600 |
Yordan Alvarez | +2500 | +2500 | +2200 | +2500 | +2000 |
Anthony Santander | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 | +2500 |
Juan Soto | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 | +2500 |
Brent Rooker | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 | +2200 |
Kyle Tucker | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 | +3500 |
Gunnar Henderson | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 | +3000 | +1800 |
*odds as of January 15, 2025
Aaron Judge: A slow start to the season and a lull at the end caused Judge to miss out on breaking his own record, but his 58 long balls were still enough to lead the MLB in 2024. While the Yankees lineup will look different this season with guys like Cody Bellinger hitting behind Judge instead of Juan Soto, the Yankees captain should still come out looking highly motivated after the World Series loss. Of course, motivation aside, it also helps that Judge was in the 100th percentile in barrel percentage and hard-hit percentage last season, per Baseball Savant.
Shohei Ohtani: For a stretch of last season, it seemed as if Judge would easily win the home run title, but an otherworldly back half of the season from Ohtani made the race far closer. The NL MVP finished the regular season with 54 home runs, eight more than his previous career high. While it's crazy to say that Ohtani seems like he could be getting even better as time goes on, that was the case in 2024 and certainly could be in 2025 as well.
Kyle Schwarber: Opposing pitchers need to be extra cautious when facing the Phillies lineup, and Schwarber is a big reason for that. The veteran may not have the typical leadoff hitter build, but he does his job at the top of the lineup. In 2024, Schwarber finished 8th in home runs with 38, which was the first time in his Phillies career he didn't break the 45 home run marker.
Season | Player | Home Runs | Team |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Aaron Judge | 58 | New York Yankees |
2023 | Matt Olson | 54 | Atlanta Braves |
2022 | Aaron Judge | 62 | New York Yankees |
2021 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Salvador Perez | 48 | Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals |
2020 | Luke Voit | 22 | New York Yankees |
2019 | Pete Alonso | 53 | New York Mets |
2018 | Khris Davis | 48 | Oakland A's |
2017 | Giancarlo Stanton | 59 | Miami Marlins |
2016 | Mark Trumbo | 47 | Baltimore Orioles |
2015 | Chris Davis | 47 | Baltimore Orioles |
2014 | Nelson Cruz | 40 | Baltimore Orioles |
The caliber of stuff that MLB pitchers have has never been better, so in turn, guys can rack up strikeouts at an impressive pace. Between veterans like Chris Sale and Gerrit Cole or young phenoms like Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, the 2025 strikeout leader race is going to be a highly contested one. While Skenes has opened as the favorite for this market, there are quite a few premier arms that are worth a look for futures bettors, and down below, we'll break down the best prices for all the flamethrowers across the league.
Player | Opening odds | Bet365 | DraftKings | BetMGM | Caesars |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Skenes | +600 | +600 | +600 | +400 | +700 |
Tarik Skubal | +900 | +900 | +950 | +700 | +1100 |
Garrett Crochet | +1000 | +1000 | +1100 | +550 | +700 |
Blake Snell | +1600 | +1600 | +1700 | +800 | +1800 |
Dylan Cease | +1600 | +1600 | +1700 | +1800 | +1800 |
Gerrit Cole | +2200 | +2200 | +2500 | +3500 | +2500 |
Hunter Greene | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 | +2000 | +2200 |
Cole Ragans | +2500 | +2500 | +2800 | +3000 | +2500 |
Logan Gilbert | +2500 | +2500 | +2800 | +3500 | +2500 |
Zack Wheeler | +2500 | +2500 | +2800 | +3000 | +2500 |
Chris Sale | +2800 | +2800 | +2500 | +3000 | +2500 |
Corbin Burnes | +3300 | +3300 | +4000 | +3500 | +3500 |
*odds as of January 15, 2025
Paul Skenes: It did not take long for Paul Skenes to reach the Majors, and it not did take long for him to dominant either. In 133 innings, Skenes racked up 170 strikeouts on the way to a 1.96 ERA. Skenes' ability to overpower hitters while also mixing in elite breaking stuff led to an 11.9 SO9 ratio, which was higher than Cy Young winners, Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal. With a full season in the Majors ahead of him, it is no surprise to see him favored to lead the league in punchouts.
Tarik Skubal: Not only did Skubal lead the league in strikeouts last season, but he also took home his first Cy Young award. Skubal was always touted as a guy with solid stuff, but he put it all together last season, ranking in the 91st percentile in strikeout rate and 90th percentile in whiff rate on BaseballSavant. As long as he can stay healthy, there is no reason as to why Skubal can't be near the top of the strikeout leaderboard again in 2025.
Garrett Crochet: The White Sox put together one of the worst seasons many baseball fans had ever seen, but the lone bright spot was Garrett Crochet. While some injuries would lead to him throwing just 146 innings, the hard-throwing lefty still racked up 209 strikeouts in his first full season as a starter. Entering the 2025 season, Crochet will be leading the Boston Red Sox rotation, and while it has the potential to be his true breakout year, his ability to stay healthy remains the biggest question.
Season | Player | Strikeouts | Team |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Tarik Skubal | 228 | Detroit Tigers |
2023 | Spencer Strider | 281 | Atlanta Braves |
2022 | Gerrit Cole | 257 | New York Yankees |
2021 | Robbie Ray | 248 | Toronto Blue Jays |
2020 | Shane Bieber | 122 | Cleveland Guardians |
2019 | Gerrit Cole | 326 | Houston Astros |
2018 | Max Scherzer | 300 | Washington Nationals |
2017 | Chris Sale | 308 | Boston Red Sox |
2016 | Max Scherzer | 284 | Washington Nationals |
2015 | Clayton Kershaw | 301 | Los Angeles Dodgers |
2014 | David Price | 271 | Detroit Tigers |