After finishing fourth in the AL MVP race in 2024, Gunnar Henderson had a bit of a down year in 2025. However, he's hitting the ball well again and has a great matchup today. Henderson ranks in the 97th percentile in overall offensive talent according to THE BAT X, and he's slugging .691 over the last two weeks. He'll have the platoon advantage at home against Arizona starter Merril Kelly and there's a 13 mph breeze blowing towards the outfield at hitter-friendly Camden Yards. Kelly is making his season debut after dealing with a back ailment and he logged a 4.16 xERA in 32 starts last year. The D-Backs have one of the worst bullpens in the majors behind him.
Pete Alonso crushed a home run on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a fan in a Polar Bear costume caught it—if that’s not a sign to run it back on Tuesday, I don’t know what is. Alonso is listed at +427 to hit a home run, but I make the fair price closer to +350. The weather at Camden Yards is also favorable, with the wind blowing out to center field at 13 mph and temperatures expected to be in the high 80s—ideal conditions for power hitting. If you’re into BvP, you’ll also like that Alonso has three home runs in 19 career at-bats against Merrill Kelly.
There were seven homers hit at Camden Yards yesterday, with one coming off the bat of Pete Alonso, who is +EV for a dinger today at +390 with a fair price around +340, per THE BAT. It’s another great setting with double-digit winds blowing out and Merrill Kelly making his first start of the season before handing it over to a bullpen that got tagged for seven runs over just nine outs yesterday. Alonso is the bat to target in this lineup, boasting the best Blast Contact% numbers in the clubhouse — roughly double that of Gunnar Henderson. The final piece is familiarity. Alonso has seen Kelly 19 times, which leans in the hitter’s favor, and the Polar Bear has gone deep three times in those matchups.