Contreras over 0.5 HR at +300, Pasquantino over 0.5 HR at +475, Freeland over 0.5 HR at +650, Buxton over 0.5 HR at +280 headline Friday’s MLB HR prop slate. Value plays bend toward favorable righty matchups, weather, and park factors to beat the odds, not chase the obvious. Shop for the best line to juice round-robin upside.

Contreras faces Littell, a pitcher with trouble handling right-handed power; Pasquantino has shown power against righties and Paddack has leaked homers recently; Freeland thrives against right-handers while Gallen has allowed hard contact; Buxton’s big righty power and Cortes’ lefty splits tip the scales. These picks hinge on plus-money outcomes and volatility in a large slate.

Stay agile with lineup updates and weather; small line movements can turn these long-shot bets into meaningful round-robin gains, especially when multiple picks connect in a single card.

With a month left in the 2025 season, MLB’s playoff chase is tightening fast. Dodgers and Padres duel for NL West supremacy as the Astros and Mariners battle for their own West glory. Toronto fights to hold off Boston and New York in a crowded AL; the wild-card races in both leagues are razor-thin, and seedings will hinge on late-September performances. Postseason begins Sept. 30, so bullpen usage and rotation depth will swing fantasy value in the stretch run.

Kyle Schwarber launched four homers in five at-bats, driving his season total to 49 as Philadelphia crushed Atlanta 18-4. It marks the Phillies’ fourth four-homer game in franchise history and the first since Mike Schmidt in 1976, underscoring Schwarber’s ceiling as a fantasy power hitter when hot.

He logged nine RBIs and vaulted into the upper tier of power-only contributors. With Ohtani pacing NL power for the Dodgers and Cal Raleigh pacing MLB HRs at 50, the night highlighted how a single slugger can tilt daily-rant fantasy matchups and emphasize the value of rostering big-volume power in a run-heavy schedule.

Kyle Schwarber blasted four homers in a win over Atlanta, tying MLB’s single-game record. He’s the fourth Phillies player to do it and the first since Mike Schmidt in 1976, lifting his season total to 49 and leaving him one behind Cal Raleigh for the MLB lead.

Nick Kurtz of Oakland joined the four-homer club earlier, Eugenio Suárez did it for Arizona against the Braves in April, and Shohei Ohtani had led the NL with 45 HRs before Schwarber’s burst. Raleigh still tops the circuit, but Schwarber’s power surge adds a strong fantasy spike as the season winds down.

Mark Teixeira announced a bid for Texas 21st Congressional District, advocating an America First, conservative agenda as a Dallas-area resident with deep Texas ties. The district is clearly GOP-leaning, offering a favorable path after Chip Roy’s 26-point win, and Teixeira’s cross-sport fame from Rangers, Angels, Braves and Yankees adds star power to the campaign narrative. Steve Garvey, another baseball legend and Republican, previously pursued a California statewide seat but struggled to gain traction in a state shelling out statewide GOP defeats. The piece frames Teixeira’s run against a GOP-heavy backdrop, contrasting his local roots with Garvey’s national campaign challenges, and notes Teixeira’s notable 2008 Angels season and 409-career homers as part of his public profile.