Submit your predictions for the five clubs that will tally the most strikeouts in the games taking place from Sept. 5-7 and you could win a $5,000 grand prize.
Konami League Leaders Pick ‘Em asks you to select the teams whose hitters will record the most home runs from Sept. 5-7. Enter your picks of the top five teams HERE before 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 4 and you could win the grand prize.
Need help making your picks? Here are some tips based on the season so far. (All statistics through the end of play on Thursday, Aug. 28).
Top home run team
Yankees (228 home runs, most in MLB)
Despite the complications, they are still the Bombers, and they’ve been falling back on a tried-and-true strategy to start climbing out of the hole they dug themselves over the summer. Back in the outfield on a regular basis, Giancarlo Stanton has kicked off another one of his notorious hot streaks, with seven home runs and a 1.514 OPS since Aug. 9, when he played his first game in right since 2023. Power surges from Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham and Ben Rice have further aided in getting the Yankees back into offensive form, and the matchup here is pretty solid as well — they’ll be hosting the Blue Jays, who’ve given up 56 home runs since the All-Star break, tied for fourth-most in the Majors.
Hottest-hitting team
Brewers (40 HR, .479 SLG in August)
Not necessarily the most powerful group at base, but the hottest teams often do seem to have a big hit ready whenever they need one, and the Brewers have been no exception lately. Case in point: Brice Turang, who hit seven home runs in 155 games last season and has nine home runs this month. William Contreras has added a further eight and Christian Yelich has six of his own — and that’s limiting the list just to the guys who’ve hit at least five in August. The matchup is worth considering here: They’ll be visiting the Pirates, who have a 5.02 team ERA in August but have also given up the third-fewest home runs in 2025 due in no small part to PNC Park, which according to Statcast park factors has been the most hostile ballpark to home run hitters since 2023.
Underrated home run team
Mariners (191 home runs, third-most in the Majors)
All eyes are on Cal Raleigh, but power production is up across the board in Seattle — when you’re a close third to the Yankees and Dodgers in any offensive category, that’s usually a sign you’re doing something right. Raleigh has officially reached the 50-HR marker with eight in August; Deadline acquisition Eugenio Suárez has six, as does Julio Rodríguez, who’s having another one of his second-half surges (.290/.325/.561, 11 HR since the All-Star break). If they need backup, there’s also Randy Arozarena, whose 25 home runs on the season are already a career high, and Jorge Polanco, currently at 20.
Team in a friendly park
Mets (178 home runs, fourth-most in NL — playing at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati)
The Reds have a solid pitching staff, even with the number of injuries they’ve had to navigate around, but Great American Ball Park is famously hitter-friendly and the Mets are currently quite homer-happy. Since breaking out of their seven-game losing streak that ran from Aug. 3-10, they’re hitting a collective .314 with a .927 OPS, both tops in MLB. Standouts from that post-skid period include Francisco Lindor (.443 AVG, .686 SLG) and Mark Vientos (6 HR in 12 games). And always looming are Pete Alonso and Juan Soto, who have eight and seven homers in August, respectively.
Team with a favorable matchup
Dodgers (201 HR, second-most in MLB) vs. Orioles pitching (183 HR allowed, fourth-most in MLB)
Oriole Park, where the Dodgers will spend the weekend in question, ranks second in home runs per game this season (3.01). First? Dodger Stadium, at 3.22 per game. Neither park has gotten smaller — the Dodgers just hit a lot of home runs, and the Orioles surrender a lot of them. (Both are perfectly average in the opposite category — go figure.) The Dodgers haven’t collectively been at their best lately, but a couple of their August performers will be worth keeping an especially close eye on — namely Shohei Ohtani (7 HR, .625 SLG) and Freddie Freeman (7 HR, .626 SLG).
