MLB Home Run Leader Odds 2025: Cal Raleigh is 2025 Home Run King, 2026 Race Should be Wide Open

• Cal Raleigh is the home run king for the 2025 MLB season

• Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber both made things interesting deep into the season, but couldn’t keep pace with Seattle’s switch-hitting catcher

• Check back during the MLB offseason when the odds to be the 2026 home run leader will be available

Every year, one of the most fascinating individual races in baseball is the competition to lead the majors in home runs. Typically, some of the biggest stars in baseball are involved in this race, although younger and unexpected players sometimes crash the party, which keeps things interesting. All season, we’ll be tracking what sluggers have the best odds to lead the majors in home runs in 2025 and sharing our pick for the best bet at that point in the season.

MLB Home Run Leader Predictions 

Cal Raleigh is officially the MLB home run king in 2025. Before the season, you wouldn’t have found Raleigh on the radar, as his previous career-high was just 34 home runs. Since Raleigh had never displayed power like this before, it took a while until oddsmakers made him the betting favorite. This means the sooner you realized Raleigh had staying power in the home race, the better odds you would have gotten on him.

The fact that Raleigh won the home run race shows just how unpredictable this race can be, even with Aaron Judge winning in both 2022 and 2024. This is the second time in three years that someone came out of the blue to be the home run leader. Raleigh followed a similar path to Matt Olson in 2023. Both got off to fast starts and kept up that pace all season. To be fair, both Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber stayed within striking distance until late in the season. But Raleigh never stopped launching homers, making him impossible to catch.

Once the MLB season ends, make sure to come back to this page, as we’ll have a preview of the odds to be the home run leader in 2026. Raleigh will undoubtedly be among the leading favorites, as he attempts to become the first player since Jose Bautista in 2010 and 2011 to lead the majors in homers in consecutive seasons. Naturally, Ohtani, Schwarber, and Judge will also head into 2026 among the favorites. Young sluggers like Jo Adell and Junior Caminero should also be on the radar. That should make the 2026 home run race even more compelling than Raleigh’s journey in 2025.

How to Bet on the MLB Home Run Leader

Betting on the MLB home run leader can be a little tricky. It’s far more complicated than merely betting on the current leader in home runs, especially early in the season. Many players are capable of getting hot at some point in the season and hitting a lot of home runs in a short period. But being the home run leader is about maintaining consistency over the full season. Power hitters who can do that are the ones who end up being the home run leader at the end of the season.

Obviously, a player’s current home run total is an important consideration. But it’s also relevant to look at their track record. What’s the highest home run total of their career? Is their home run total steadily increasing year by year? Likewise, is that player at an age at which their home run total is likely to improve? The health of a player is also of great importance. It’s hard to lead the majors in home runs if you miss significant time with an injury. Therefore, a player with a history of injuries may not be the best candidate to be the home run king.

How To Read Home Run Leader Odds

With multiple candidates to be the home run king, most players will have plus (+) betting odds. Therefore, the profit will be greater than the wager. For instance, a $100 bet on +500 odds will have a profit of $500. Of course, if there is a clear favorite, they may have negative (-) odds. This means that for a player with -150 odds, you will have to bet $150 in order to make a profit of $100.

Where to Bet on the MLB Home Run Leader

FanDuel Sportsbook is among the best platforms for betting on the MLB home run leader or making any other baseball bets. In fact, FanDuel is the official betting partner of MLB, so they have the league well-covered in terms of available betting options. This includes the home run leader, which is a popular betting market.

If you don’t already have a FanDuel account, you can sign up for one and receive the welcome offer: Bet $5, Get $300 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins. There is no promo code required for this offer. All you have to do is pick a safe bet for your first wager to make sure you collect your bonus bets.

MLB Home Run Leader History

As mentioned, there is always a lot of attention on who the MLB home run leader is during the season. This is usually because some of the biggest stars in the game earn that distinction. In recent years, Aaron Judge has been the one to beat. However, there are plenty of examples of a player who didn’t receive much consideration before the season becoming the home run leader, including Luke Voit in the shortened 2020 season or Matt Olson in 2023.

Thus, you never know what’s going to happen in the MLB home run race from one year to the next. For proof of that, look no further than a list of the 10 most recent winners.