MLB Player Props Today: Will Juan Soto Continue Slugging on Friday, April 18?

Every single team is in action on Friday and it's the best weather day of the season thus far. Everyone is talking about the Wrigley Field conditions and how winds are blowing out 15-20 miles per hour, but there are plenty of other games with value in the home run betting sphere.

Keeping that in mind, I picked out four of my favorite home run bets for Friday, April 18. Let's get into it.

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MLB Player Props Today: Friday, April 18

Heliot Ramos (+420) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds

Heliot Ramos is crushing the ball of late, yet the results have been few and far between. In the last week alone, Ramos has four barrels including a double off the top of the wall against Cristopher Sanchez on Thursday. 

It’s only a matter of time before the ball leaves the park given the way he’s swung the bat. His barrel rate continues to rise of late (now 14.3%) and now gets a plus matchup against Tyler Anderson on deck. 

Ramos was a southpaw killer last season. In 108 at-bats, he hit 10 home runs. The then-rookie finished with a 1.189 OPS and a .370 average. So far this season, Ramos has four hits against lefties – three have been extra bases. 

Last year, Anderson was a negative regression evader. He didn't strike out a ton of batters and survived thanks to a .258 BABIP and 75.8% LOB rate. He has been even luckier in 2025 (.139, 94.6%), and that’s with a 12.8% barrel rate and extremely shaky control. 

Anderson is a fly-ball pitcher and has already given up three home runs in his opening three starts. I’d expect more of the same against a San Francisco team that has a lot of pop. You can go a number of directions here, but I’ll side with Ramos, who is swinging an extremely hot bat at the plate and is due for some positive regression given the high number of barrels this past week yet zero home runs.  

Juan Soto (+350) & Mark Vientos (+460) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds

I love to fade Milos Mikolas and Friday presents a perfect opportunity for a well-rested New York Mets squad heading home. Mikolas relies on location and generating soft content. He does not overpower opponents and has finished with a sub-17% strikeout rate in each of the last three seasons. 

Given that he is a fly-ball pitcher (42.2%) and has yet to give up a home run this season – despite an 8.9% barrel rate – negative regression should be coming for the 36-year-old. Mikolas has a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings (14 hits). 

Mikolas struggles against hitters from both sides of the plate. Last season in 32 starts, 11% of hits allowed against left-handed hitters left the park. Against righties, that number was actually a touch better – 15.5%. 

There are two batters that I like to target here. One is fun and the other is not for the faint of heart. 

Let’s start with the fun one – Juan Soto!

Soto has seen Mikolas extremely well in 21 at-bats (.333 average, 1 HR). A plus here is that Mikolas actually has great control. For his career, he’s posted a 4.3 BB% – and Soto is known for his keen eye. 

But Mikolas fills up the strike zone and Soto is one of the best hitters in baseball. We saw Soto start to break out in Minnesota (2 HRs) and actually ranks in the 98th percentile of all hitters in squared-up rate (39.6%). It’s only a matter of time before his barrel rate jumps back to his career average and against a soft-tosser like Mikolas, the matchup is in Soto’s favor. 

Now here’s the less fun one: Mark Vientos. 

For the first time yesterday, Vientos found the seats. He’s just a year removed from his breakout sophomore season (27 HRs) and has been hitting the ball much better of late – and harder. It’s only a matter of time before he finds his groove. 

Vientos now has a hit in five straight games. Three of those hits have gone for extra bases. This is a player that barreled over 10% of balls two seasons in a row – that 5.8% number will continue to rise in the coming weeks. 

There’s also double-digit winds expected around game time with temperatures nearing 60 degrees. We are finally seeing nice hitting weather come around and Friday is the perfect opportunity for the Mets to batter a soft-tossing Mikolas. 

Adley Rutschman (+800) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds

Let’s end with a long shot dart here. I’m sure everyone is all over the Wrigley Field conditions and wind blowing out – leading to insanely low home run odds across the board – but there are other games to take advantage of thanks to great weather. One is Baltimore. 

It’ll be about 75 degrees and sunny at first pitch when the Reds and Orioles square off. The wind is expected to reach double digits out to left field, a huge plus for right-handed hitters. The coincidence? Both the O’s and Reds are throwing out southpaws!

Andrew Abbott is a good fade target when betting home runs. He is an extreme fly-ball pitcher – career 50.4 FB% – and ranked in the 19th percentile in barrels allowed last season (9.3%). The end result is a career 1.5 HR/9. 

While he’s been able to zap the power out of lefties, righties have found plenty of success in the power department. Last season, of the 96 hits Abbott gave up to right-handed hitters, 24% went for home runs and nearly 50% in general went for extra bases.

Despite a slow start to the season, I'm not too worried. Rutschman mashed left-handed pitchers last year, with his OPS jumping from .631 against righties all the way up to .902 against southpaws! His barrel rate this season has actually been a career-best 10.9% as well and he ranks in the 98th percentile of all hitters in squared-up%.

Given his plate discipline and positive split on Friday night, I’m willing to take a stab at the catcher. 

Friday's MLB Player Props

• Heliot Ramos (+420) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
• Juan Soto (+350) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
• Mark Vientos (+460) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
• Adley Rutschman (+800) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds

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