Friday MLB home run props: Picking on Junis, Milone
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Back to a full slate of baseball Friday following a slower night Thursday, and that means plenty of home run hitters for us to choose from.
Here are Friday's best bets to go yard.
Howie Kendrick, Nationals (+450)
Kendrick's had a pedestrian start to the season, hitting just .261 with a .435 slugging percentage. But he went 2-for-3 with a home run in his lone game against a lefty. That's right on par for the second baseman, who slashed .376/.421/.615 against southpaws last year. He's good value to go deep Friday against a very generous Baltimore Orioles lefty.
Tommy Milone gave up an absurd 1.93 HR/9 rate last season, surrendering 24 homers in 111 2/3 innings. He's always been victimized by the long ball, posting a 2.39 HR/9 rate in 2018, a 2.79 mark in 2017, and a 1.95 rate in 2016. Kendrick has a good shot to add to Milone's struggles.
Austin Meadows, Rays (+360)
Keeping the ball in the yard has never been Masahiro Tanaka's strong suit. The New York Yankees pitcher's 1.38 HR/9 rate last season was 19th among qualified pitchers and his lowest mark since 2016.
Meadows got some good hacks in against Tanaka in his first season in the AL East last year, including a home run off him at the Trop. He's a good bet to take the righty deep Friday.
Miguel Sano, Twins (+350)
Jakob Junis has given up a ton of souvenirs in his young career. He allowed the sixth-highest HR/9 rate among qualifying pitchers last season (1.59) and the third-highest mark in 2018 (1.63). He was touched up in his first start of the season, lasting just 4 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox, and now he gets a Minnesota Twins team that scores runs for fun.
Sano has picked things up after a brutal 1-for-17 start to the season, including a .118 slugging percentage in July. That number has jumped to .824 in August, with three home runs and four extra-base hits in five games. His sample size against Junis has been small over the past two seasons despite them playing in the same division, but he's 2-for-7 against him with two homers.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.