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 2026 and sharing our pick for the best bet at that point in the season.
Let's check out the top favorites and their odds.
Odds for the Home Run Leader title are provided by some of our best MLB betting sites available in the market today. For more MLB action, check the latest MLB promo codes and bonuses.
| Home Run Leader Candidates | BetMGM Odds | Caesars Odds | FanDuel Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Schwarber | -120 | -150 | -120 |
| Aaron Judge | +210 | +200 | +200 |
| Munetaka Murakami | +800 | +750 | +900 |
| Yordan Alvarez | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Byron Buxton | +2200 | +2500 | +2500 |
| James Wood | +3000 | +2000 | +3300 |
| Ben Rice | +3000 | +2500 | +3000 |
| Matt Olson | +3500 | +2200 | +3500 |
| Junior Caminero | +4000 | +3500 | +4000 |
| Mike Trout | +4000 | +4500 | +4500 |
| Odds are current at the time of publishing and are subject to change. | |||
The race for the MLB home run crown is always a thrilling spectacle of raw power, perfect launch angles, and tape-measure blasts. Here's pick for the elite sluggers poised to terrorize opposing pitching staffs and lead the league in long balls this season.
Aaron Judge is my pick to lead the major leagues in home runs in 2026 due to his established power profile and elite early-season production. Historically, Judge has demonstrated an unmatched ceiling for power, evidenced by his 58 home runs in 2024 and 53 in 2025. Currently, he is continuing this trajectory in the 2026 season, already pacing the league with 16 home runs through his first 43 games.
Furthermore, his underlying advanced metrics remain at the top of the sport, characterized by top-percentile rankings in average exit velocity, barrel percentage, and expected slugging percentage. This consistent ability to generate elite quality of contact, combined with his proven high volume of current production, makes him the strongest statistical favorite to secure the 2026 home run title.
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.
| MLB Home Run Leader | Year |
|---|---|
| Cal Raleigh | 2025 |
| Aaron Judge | 2024 |
| Matt Olson | 2023 |
| Aaron Judge | 2022 |
| Vladimir Gurrero Jr. | 2021 |
| Luke Voit | 2020 |
| Pete Alonso | 2019 |
| Khris Davis | 2018 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 2017 |
| Mark Trumbo | 2016 |
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.
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.
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, sign up for one today and receive the welcome offer: Get $350 in Bonus Bets When You Bet $5 for 7 Days. More info on this offer can be found in our FanDuel promo code overview.
When wagering on the MLB Home Run Leader, BetMGM Sportsbook consistently stands out by offering some of the most competitive odds in the industry. Additionally, the sportsbook features a straightforward interface and consistent market availability, making it an efficient and practical option for tracking long-term statistical milestones and securing positions on elite sluggers throughout the 162-game schedule. If you haven't created an account yet, sign up using BetMGM bonus code WSNSPORTS to unlock the following welcome offer: Get Up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets*.
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