Top MLB Home Run Picks Today on PrizePicks – Tuesday, August 18

As playoff races continue to heat up, MLB has a full 15-game slate for fans to enjoy on Tuesday. There are some intriguing pitching matchups to monitor, but the real storyline is how many home runs could be clubbed by the game’s most prominent sluggers tonight. 

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 Tuesday, August 18, including what makes each player a potential target for home run predictions. 

Make your MLB home run picks for Tuesday, August 18 on PrizePicks now.  

{{mlb_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

Top Home Run Picks Today – Tuesday, August 18

It’s one thing for a player to say they can hit a home run. Simply being strong enough to muscle a ball out of the park is nice, but walking the walk and doing things to increase your probability of a long ball is where the money is truly made.

Some things can’t be influenced by hitters, such as ballpark dimensions, weather, and pitcher tendencies. With that said, batters can optimize their swing path, swing speed, and swing decisions to potentially deliver some positive results. 

Which players could be in good positions to swat a homer on Tuesday? 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. Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani 
2. Astros DH Yordan Alvarez
3. Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
4. Orioles 1B Pete Alonso
5. Yankees 1B Ben Rice
6. Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber
7. White Sox 1B Munetaka Murakami
8. Nationals SS CJ Abrams

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.

Cubs CF Pete Crow-Armstrong

White Sox vs. Cubs – 8:05 p.m. CT

White Sox Starting Pitcher: Bryan Hudson

MLB Weather Report: 76 degrees, 53% chance of rain, 9 mph southwest wind

• Crow-Armstrong continues to enjoy a career season, posting personal bests in SLG (.550), ISO (.269), and wRC+ (154). 
• The superstar CF has upped his average exit velocity to 90.3 mph, also raising his hard-hit rate to 48.8%. 
• Maximizing bat speed has played a major role in PCA’s surge. His 74.8 mph average is much improved, and his 50% fast-swing share is almost double last year’s mark of 28.5%. 
• The MVP candidate ranks in the 87th percentile in hard-hit rate and the 86th percentile in launch angle sweet-spot split (38.6%). 
• Hudson doesn’t induce any swing-and-miss out of the zone, with his 24.1% chase rate sitting in just the second percentile. He also yields a .500 SLG on his sinker, a pitch that Crow-Armstrong owns a .583 SLG against. 

Add Pete Crow-Armstrong to your PrizePicks Lineup now.

{{mlb_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

Yankees 1B Ben Rice

Yankees vs. Orioles – 6:35 p.m. ET

Orioles Starting Pitcher: Shane Baz

MLB Weather Report: 84 degrees, clear skies, 3 mph northwest wind

• Rice is significantly better against righties, boasting a .567 SLG and .312 ISO as opposed to respective figures of .472 and .230 against lefty hurlers.
• New York’s top hitter this season is embracing his pull-side power, achieving a pull-air rate of 20.5% and hitting to his strong side 48.3% of the time overall. That’s factored into his 8.8% soft contact clip being his lowest in three seasons on the job.
• Rice’s xSLG (.508) and barrel rate (15.1%) occupy the 95th and 94th percentiles, respectively.
• Baz’s raw home run allowance numbers are impressive this year, but he resides in just the 21st percentile with a 42.3% induced barrel rate.
• An interesting pitch matchup in this one that doesn’t typically arise is the knuckle curve. Baz unleashes it 32.7% of the time to the tune of a .422 SLG. Rice has only seen the offering 27 times in 2026, but he’s crushed it with a .667 SLG. 

Add Ben Rice to your PrizePicks Lineup now.

Astros DH Yordan Alvarez

Angels vs. Astros – 8:10 p.m. ET

Angels Starting Pitcher: George Klassen

MLB Weather Report: Played in a dome

• Baseball’s best hitter this season is one off the MLB lead in home runs (36 to Kyle Schwarber’s 37) and is slugging a ridiculous .619 while owning a personal best 186 wRC+.
• Alvarez is hitting the ball in the air now more than ever (48%), also lacing line drives with 23.2% frequency. 
• Somehow, the expected data makes Yordan look even better. He has positive discrepancies in both xBA (+0.09) and xSLG (+0.62), further emphasizing how insane he’s been this year.
• Alvarez’s barrel rate (17.7%), hard-hit share (53.4%), and average exit velocity (94.5 mph) all rank between the 97th and 99th percentiles.
• Klassen, still a rising prospect for the Angels, owns an ugly 13.0% barrel rate and 41.3% hard-hit rate in 14.2 IP thus far. His 89.9 mph average exit velo isn’t much better — the 24-year-old is getting hit hard. 

Add Yordan Alvarez to your PrizePicks Lineup now.

Make MLB Home Run Picks on PrizePicks

With every team taking the field on Tuesday, there could be a flurry of home runs hit by some of baseball’s biggest stars. Based on multiple factors, the trio of Rice, Crow-Armstrong, and Alvarez might just take the cake as the evening’s action unfolds. 

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

Pick players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if you’re right. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on game winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 36 states.

Stay locked in on Playbook for daily MLB predictions, picks, and news throughout the 2026 MLB season.