5 Best Fantasy Baseball Players to Target for Home Runs in 2025

This is a popular time for fantasy baseball drafts to commence, as the 2025 MLB season is right around the corner. While some fantasy baseball leagues operate with a points system for scoring, others have their scoring determined by how your players perform in certain categories, including home runs.

To determine which players to target for home runs, there are a variety of metrics to focus on. Barrel rate, hard-hit rate, flyball rate, average exit velocity, and other metrics are what I tend to prioritize when deciding whether or not a player has potential to hit a decent amount of long balls.

Taking all of this into account, let's take a look at a handful of players to target in fantasy baseball for home runs in 2025.

All stats are courtesy of FanGraphs or Baseball Savant unless stated otherwise. The average draft position (ADP) listed for each player comes from FantasyPros' Consensus ADP.

Fantasy Baseball: Players to Target for Home Runs

Christian Walker, 1B, Astros

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 79.0

After posting 36 and 33 home runs in 2022 and 2023, respectively, Christian Walker saw his home run count decline to 26 in 2024. But the drop in home runs can be largely attributed to Walker missing a month of action due to an oblique injury, which forced him to miss the month of August.

Before suffering the oblique injury at the end of July, Walker was 20th in ISO (.222), 13th in barrel rate (14.7%), and 8th in flyball rate (48.8%). Comparatively, Walker posted a .192 ISO, 6.6% barrel rate, and 37.7% flyball rate from September 3 to the end of the regular season, proving he never settled back in once he returned.

Even with Walker missing a decent portion of the latter part of the campaign in 2024, he still managed to reside in the 82nd percentile in average exit velocity (91.2 MPH), 90th percentile in barrel rate (13.3%), and 86th percentile in hard-hit rate (48.0%). As a matter of fact, Walker's 13.3% barrel rate a season ago was better than his 2022 (11.5%) and 2023 (11.2%) numbers.

Another positive for Walker besides being healthier is the fact he departed the Arizona Diamondbacks in favor of the Houston Astros in free agency this offseason. Over the last three years, Chase Field -- which is where the Diamondbacks play -- is 24th in home run park factor while the Astros' Minute Maid Park is 9th in the same time frame.

Jake Burger, 1B/3B/DH, Rangers

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 127.0

Jake Burger certainly has an elite name, but he's also become a reliable source for home runs in recent years. Following a 2023 campaign where he totaled 34 homers during his time with the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins, Burger proceeded to crush 29 home runs in 2024 with the Marlins.

Despite Burger's ISO descending a bit from 2023 (.268) to 2024 (.209), he did slightly improve his plate discipline last season, going from a 27.5% strikeout rate in 2023 to a 25.9% strikeout rate in 2024. The statcast metrics were also solid for Burger a season ago, sitting in the 84th percentile in average exit velocity (91.3 MPH), 84th percentile in barrel rate (12.3%), and 81st percentile in hard-hit rate (46.8%).

Burger also tends to hit the ball over the fence whenever he lifts it into the air, ranking 18th in HR/FB rate (18.4%) last season. The hard-hitting corner infielder should also have more opportunities to go yard in 2025 after switching teams in the offseason.

Similar to Walker, Burger figures to see a massive improvement in park factor upon joining the Texas Rangers from the Marlins. After spending last season playing home games at Miami's loanDepot park (22nd in home run park factor over the last three years), Burger will enjoy his home contests at Globe Life Field (5th in home run park factor) this season.

Tyler O'Neill, OF, Orioles

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 186.6

Injuries have plagued Tyler O'Neill throughout his career in the majors, and even though he missed time in 2024, he still produced notable numbers for the Boston Red Sox. O'Neill appeared in 113 games last season, but he notched 31 homers in 473 plate appearances.

Although O'Neill's 33.6% strikeout rate wasn't ideal in 2024, his power numbers rivaled those of the best hitters in baseball. Of the players with 450-plus plate appearances last season, O'Neill was 5th in ISO (.270), 5th in barrel rate (17.3%), and 23rd in hard-hit rate (48.4%).

In addition to O'Neill recording the 15th-best flyball rate (46.9%) in the same sample from above, he was 4th in HR/FB rate (26.1%), which led to his second campaign of 30-plus homers. It wasn't a prerequisite to change teams in the offseason to be featured in this article, but O'Neill also changed his address in recent months.

O'Neill stayed in the AL East during free agency, making the move from the Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles, who saw improvements in home run park factor at Camden Yards last season. While Camden Yards is 20th in home run park factor across the last three years, it was 14th in 2024, and the organization made alterations to the ballpark ahead of the 2025 campaign that should favor right-handed hitters.

Michael Toglia, 1B/OF, Rockies

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 212.0

Having a 32.1% strikeout rate or higher in each of his first three seasons in the majors is undoubtedly a blemish on Michael Toglia's profile in fantasy baseball. On the other hand, Toglia is coming off a 2024 campaign where he posted career-best marks in home runs (25), walk rate (11.8%), and ISO (.238).

After his power surge a season ago, Toglia should be batting in the middle of the order for the Colorado Rockies in 2025. To no one's surprise, players on the Rockies get a boost in the dingers category with their home games taking place at Coors Field, which is eighth in home run park factor over the last three years.

The second half of the season was kind to Toglia as the former first-round selection earned the sixth-best barrel rate (16.4%) post All-Star break, with the likes of Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto, and Jorge Soler being the only players ahead of him during that span. Over the course of the entire season, Toglia was 23rd in average exit velocity (92.1 MPH), 17th in hard-hit rate, and 5th in barrels per batted ball event rate (17.3%).

Toglia also finished 20th in expected slugging percentage (.503) last season, so he even left a little meat on the bone by sporting a .456 slugging percentage in 2024. Any sort of improvement in plate discipline could lead to 30-plus homers for Toglia in the upcoming season.

Rhys Hoskins, 1B, DH, Brewers

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 255.2

Hitting baseballs over the fence isn't a rare occurrence for Rhys Hoskins.

The veteran first baseman has five seasons where he's launched 26-plus homers, including last year with the Milwaukee Brewers. During his debut season with the Brewers in 2024, Hoskins tallied 26 home runs in 517 plate appearances after missing the entire 2023 campaign due to a torn ACL with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Hoskins may have accumulated career-worst marks in walk rate (10.3%), strikeout rate (28.8%), and ISO (.205) a season ago, but his power metrics were still solid. Putting the ball in the air wasn't an issue for Hoskins in 2024, concluding the year with the 7th-best flyball rate (48.4%) and 20th-best HR/FB rate (17.6%) in the majors.

On top of that, Hoskins was still in the 86th percentile in barrel rate (12.7%) and 63rd percentile in hard-hit rate (42.2%). The Brewers also play their home games in a hitter-friendly venue, with American Family Field slotting in at No. 6 in home run park factor across the last three seasons.

The good news for Hoskins is that he didn't need to spend the entire offseason rehabbing a torn ACL ahead of the 2025 season, so he's been able to spend more time on his approach at the plate. There are some risky players to target for homers in the mid-to-late rounds of drafts, but Hoskins seems like a somewhat safe bet to hit a decent amount of moon shots this season.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.