Top MLB Home Run Picks Today on PrizePicks – Monday, August 31

Believe it or not, we’re already closing in on the final stretch of the 2026 MLB regular season. Monday is the final day of August, meaning playoff races are heating up and it’s time for the game’s brightest stars to show up big-time. Could that mean home runs are coming in the near future? 

Here at PrizePicks, we have plenty of home run projections on the board to add to your MLB picks today. Many hitters have already been singled out by users as popular home run picks for the day’s action.

Let’s dive into some of the most-picked MLB home run projections for Monday, August 31, including what makes each player a potential target for home run predictions. 

Make your MLB home run picks for Monday, August 31 on PrizePicks now.  

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Top MLB Home Run Picks Today – Monday, August 31

The current home run leaderboard is chock-full of household names, and 11 players have already crossed the 30-homer threshold. Another 14 are at 25+, putting an exclamation point on what’s been a highlight-reel type of season thus far.

With that said, hitting a long ball isn’t as easy as it seems on the surface. Hitters can control things like bat speed, swing path, and launch angle, but the likes of pitcher tendencies, weather conditions and ballparks are out of their grasp. That makes each at-bat — and even each pitch — a bit different, thus adding intrigue to home run predictions. 

Which players could be in good positions to swat a homer on Monday? Daily home run projections are listed as Demons on PrizePicks, coming with higher payouts as a result. Home runs can only be selected as “More” than 0.5. 

Let’s take a look at the most popular home run picks today on PrizePicks. Picks are listed at the time of writing.

1. Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
2. Braves 1B Matt Olson
3. Orioles 1B Pete Alonso
4. Rockies C Hunter Goodman
5. White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami
6. Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras
7. Phillies 1B/RF Bryce Harper
8. Padres 3B Manny Machado

Three home run picks stand out as potential targets today. Let’s dive into the list, including a weather report from RotoGrinders.

Unless otherwise noted, data used in this article is from Baseball Savant or FanGraphs.

Rockies C Hunter Goodman

Orioles vs. Rockies – 8:40 p.m. ET

Orioles Starting Pitcher: Kyle Bradish

MLB Weather Report: 71 degrees, 62% chance of rain, 3 mph north-northeast wind

• A combination of a career-high launch angle of 18.0 degrees and a personal best 16.3% barrel rate has Goodman routinely lifting and driving the baseball.
• The Rockies’ star backstop is swinging harder than ever, evidenced by his 75.3 mph average bat speed and 52.7% fast-swing rate — both his best in three years of tracking.
• Despite being a free swinger who whiffs and strikes out a lot, this power production feels mostly sustainable. Goodman’s .470 xSLG places him in the 83rd percentile.
• After averaging just 0.71 HR/9 from 2023-2025, Bradish is serving up 1.01 long balls per nine innings in 2026.
• Opponents are making very solid contact with Bradish’s pitches; he sits in the 48th percentile in hard-hit rate (38.3%) and the 39th percentile in barrel rate (8.1%). 

Add Hunter Goodman to your PrizePicks lineup now.

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Phillies 1B/RF Bryce Harper

Phillies vs. Diamondbacks – 9:40 p.m. ET

Diamondbacks Starting Pitcher: Brandon Pfaadt

MLB Weather Report: Played in a dome

• There’s almost no gap between Harper’s SLG (.503) and xSLG (.502) to this point in the season.
• Harper has almost eliminated soft contact from his batted ball diet. His 9.8% mark is his lowest since 2020 and the second-lowest figure of his illustrious career.
• Despite walking a staggering 25.2% of the time in August, Harper hasn’t sacrificed power. This month has seen him post a .565 SLG and .239 ISO after they were .333 and .161, respectively, in July. 
• Bryce maximizes his swing, ranking in the 86th percentile with a launch angle sweet-spot percentage of 38.0%.
• Pfaadt struggles with his changeup, which yields a .286 BA and .508 SLG in 2026. Harper’s xBA (.319) and xSLG (.529) against the offering are outstanding. 

Add Bryce Harper to your PrizePicks lineup now.

Padres 3B Manny Machado

Padres vs. Reds – 6:40 p.m. ET

Reds Starting Pitcher: Brady Singer

MLB Weather Report: 91 degrees, clear skies, 3 mph southwest wind

• Although Machado’s bat speed and production have slowed down, he could be due for some positive regression. His xBA and xSLG are both notably higher than his to-date marks (+0.31 and +0.22 gaps). 
• Entering Monday’s play, the 34-year-old resides in the 74th and 73rd percentiles for average exit velocity (90.4 mph) and hard-hit rate (44.8%). 
• Singer is getting absolutely crushed by home runs this year, surrendering 1.70 per nine frames, which trumps his previous worst benchmark of 1.13 in 2023. 
• The veteran righty hurler is getting hit to the tune of a 9.5% barrel rate (18th percentile) and a 90.8 mph average exit velo (fifth percentile).
• If there’s one pitch-based matchup to monitor, it’s the cutter. Singer throws it 7.0% of the time and cedes a video game-like .828 SLG against it. When seeing cutters (8.1%), Machado owns an even .500 SLG. 

Add Manny Machado to your PrizePicks lineup now.

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Monday’s 12-game MLB slate puts 80% of the league out there to begin a new week and end the current month. Under the bright lights, could the trio of Goodman, Harper, and Machado find a way to boost their respective teams’ chances by going yard?

Don’t wait until first pitch — make your MLB home run picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right.

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