Aaron Judge Leads the Way, But Who Else Tops The 2026 World Series Home Runs Betting Market?

It’s time to dust off the organ, chalk up the baselines, and step into the batter’s box because the Major League Baseball season is underway.

Up and down the country, fans are packing out stadiums, eating their bodyweight in hot dogs, and cheering their team on the whole way to the playoffs, where the World Series awaits.

But to get there, you need to have some of the best and most consistent players in the league – the guys who can step, swing that bat, and score as many points (and preferably home runs) as possible.

Technically, it’s still early, but the way lineups look and the way front offices are behaving, you can already feel October lurking in the background of every game.

This year’s biggest contenders have come out fighting with the Dodgers flexing that well-oiled-machine vibe, the Yankees doubling down on star power again, and a few other teams that seem one hot streak away from crashing the party.

The race to the 2026 World Series is loaded with teams that can really hit, and the home run race might end up being just as fun to follow as the standings.

So who is going to come out on top and ultimately be crowned the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, because let’s be realistic, it usually goes to the player who hits the most home runs!

Aaron Judge Is Still The Standard

Aaron Judge heads into 2026 as the benchmark for home run hitters, topping the FanDuel World Series odds, but that doesn’t mean he’s a shoo-in. The betting market behind him is crowded with genuine contenders, with one intriguing rookie priced like a veteran slugger.

Books have Judge as the clear favourite for most regular-season homers, reflecting both his raw power and his track record of clearing 50 without much drama.

He’s coming off a 2025 season with 53 home runs and remains just 32 away from joining the 400-club, a milestone he can realistically reach this year if he stays healthy and injury-free.

The Yankees are among the main World Series contenders, so there is little risk of him sitting out meaningful September games. The only obvious concern is volume; Judge’s body has a lot of big-man miles on it, but when he’s on the field, he gives you as close to “bankable” 40-plus power as there is right now.

Shohei Ohtani Two-way Path To The Top

If Judge is the model, Shohei Ohtani is the glitch in the matrix: the only player who can win an MVP while chasing both the home run title and a sub-3.00 ERA.

In layman’s terms, 2025 was an incredible season for both him as a player and his team, the LA Dodgers.

He got a hit in about 28% of his at-bats, hit 55 balls over the fence for home runs, drove in 102 runs, and personally crossed home plate to score 146 times himself.

Did I mention that he can pitch as well?? In the National League Championship Series (NLCS) playoff series, he was named the MVP, and in game 4, he did something extremely rare: he hit three home runs as a batter and struck out 10 opposing hitters as a pitcher in the same game.

Oddsmakers have him as the second choice behind Judge, which reflects pure talent plus the Dodgers’ run-producing environment.

Dodger Stadium is no bandbox, but his power plays anywhere, and Los Angeles are again short World Series favourites, so the counting stats should be there if his workload holds up. Ohtani is as strong a challenger to Judge as the market suggests.

Schwarber’s One Job Description

Kyle Schwarber’s job description with the Phillies is delightfully simple: hit the ball very hard, very far, and quite often.

He crossed the 50-homer mark in 2025, with highlight shots including a 435-foot blast in August and his 54th regular-season homer that pushed his RBI tally to 130.

Betting markets have Schwarber at short odds to lead the league in homers, and some analysts have already flagged him as the pick at the price from the leading group.

The case is straightforward: he plays his home games in a friendly park, the Phillies project as a contender again, and he’s not asked to conserve energy for defence or baserunning heroics.

So, if you’re looking for a slightly longer number who has already shown 50-home-run upside, Schwarber is firmly on the shortlist. He also made a guest appearance on Abbott Elementary – so there’s that as well!
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Raleigh’s Catcher Tax

Cal Raleigh is the interesting “do you believe in the outlier?” test in this market.

He followed up his emergence as a 27-homer catcher by turning in a 2025 season with 52 home runs, a .242/.351/.578 line, 110 runs batted in, 92 runs, and even 14 steals across 613 plate appearances, making him fantasy’s top catcher.

On raw output, you can argue he should be closer to Judge than he is, but there are two big caveats.

First, he plays half his games in Seattle, which is closer to a pitcher’s haven than the short-porch comfort of the Bronx.

Second, he pays the “catcher tax”: the physical grind of the position makes it hard to repeat a 600-plus plate-appearance season with elite power.

That’s why some betting analysts are happy to strike him from the very top of their lists, even though books have him among the top four options.

Kurtz The Rookie Wildcard

Nick Kurtz is the intriguing new name in this group, on short odds despite having just one major-league season under his belt.

That rookie year was loud! Across 117 games, he hit .290/.383/.619 with 36 home runs and 86 RBI, including a four-homer game in July and a blast measured at an MLB-record 493 feet.

It was enough to earn him a Silver Slugger and unanimous AL Rookie of the Year honours, and projections still have him around 36 homers with a 137 wRC+, even with some regression factored in.

For an Oakland first baseman, the context is a little less glamorous than the Dodger blue above, but the skill set is built for a home run chase.

The unknown is durability over a full 150-game grind and whether pitchers adjust quickly now that there is a season’s worth of data on him. If you are comfortable paying for upside and accepting team risk, Kurtz is the most exciting “what if?” pick in the market.

And The Winner Is…

Well, of course, we don’t actually know that yet, but viewed collectively, it is easy to see why the market hangs Judge on top and then stacks Ohtani, Schwarber, Raleigh, and Kurtz behind him.

Judge combines elite power with ballpark, lineup support, and a long record of producing over a full season, which makes him a deserved fan favourite in a year where the Yankees are again among the leading World Series hopefuls.

Ohtani offers similar upside in a slightly different way, Schwarber brings value at a bigger price, Raleigh tests how much you trust a catcher’s body, and Kurtz gives you the fun of backing a sophomore slugger who already looks like a long-term problem for opposing pitchers.

If you had to keep it simple, you would start with Judge as the chalk, add Schwarber or Ohtani as your main alternative. Either way, the 2026 home run race looks like one worth following pitch by pitch, even if you are just keeping a mental score in the living room rather than sweating tickets in October.