The 2025 MLB season is unofficially underway, as the player props are now live on the DraftKings Sportsbook. This includes a new feature for the coming year: Home Runs X+opens in a new tab. This allows users to move past the standard over/under totals for a player and basically pick your own line.
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There’s over 550 current options to choose from, so allow me to narrow it down to my favorites, starting with a Home Run Total Season Player Prop!
PICK 1. Elly De La Cruz 30+ Home Runs (+175)
How about we keep talking about young shortstops in the National League? We all know Elly De La Cruz is on his way to becoming a superstar, and the next big thing for him is hitting a ton of home runs. Getting to 30 isn't that much of a stretch. In 2024, over 160 games, De La Cruz knocked out 25 homers and had a solid .212 ISO.
He's definitely got some serious power. With bat speed in the 90th percentile, De La Cruz hit the 88th percentile for average exit velocity (91.8 mph) and the 86th percentile for barrel rate (12.7%) in his second year. He even hit a max exit velocity of 114.7 mph, and his longest home run went 455 feet. That's not your everyday stuff; those are top-tier skills for someone who just turned 23 at the start of January.
De La Cruz might just hit 30 homers in 2025 without much effort, but he'd really boost his chances by cutting down his strikeouts a bit. More contact means more chances to hit, especially since the Reds play at Great American Ball Park, which was the top spot for home runs last season according to Park Factors.
PICK 2. AL ROY Kumar Rocker (+1600)
Kumar Rocker was the second pick in the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft. He didn't stick around in the minors for long and made it to the big leagues, starting three games for the Rangers last year. According to FanGraphs, in those three starts covering 11.2 innings for Texas, Rocker posted a 3.86 ERA, 3.17 xERA, 3.86 xFIP, and a 25.5% strikeout rate. His strikeout rate was backed up by an impressive 13.3% swinging strike rate (compared to the MLB average of 11.1% in 2024).
Rocker's not getting a hero's welcome to start the year in Texas' rotation, but there are plenty of ways he can snag a spot early on. If he does, he could make a solid run for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Plus, his promising debut last year should help him handle the pressure like a pro. The odds are at a great value and i think this a good cash out ticket down the stretch!
PICK 3. AL Cy Young Award Winner Cole Ragans (+1100)
I'm really high on KC this season, and for good reason! They've got an awesome lineup and a bunch of great pitchers. Cole Ragans is one of them, and he really started to shine after the Royals picked him up in 2023. He just kept getting better last season. In the 2024 American League, he was seventh in innings pitched (186.1), eighth in ERA (3.14), tied for fourth in xERA (3.31), second in strikeout rate (29.3 K%), and third in swinging-strike percentage (14.4 SwStr%).
The young lefty can really rack up innings and strikeouts while keeping his ERA low. Ragans' ERA estimators backed up his ERA from last season. Since the 2020 season, six out of eight Cy Young Award winners have had at least 222 strikeouts. Ragans hit 223 in 2024, making him one of the few pitchers who can reach that strikeout mark with an impressive ERA.
The Top 3 2025 MLB Player Prop Futures
That You Need to Bet!
Elly De La Cruz 30+ Home Runs (+175)
AL ROY Kumar Rocker (+1600)
AL Cy Young Award Winner Cole Ragans (+1100)
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