By Jacob Becquey

Baseball has many layers, but home runs prove to be the cornerstone of the game. Whether it be the regular season or the playoffs, nothing beats the feeling of watching your team hit one over the wall.

With 2026 inching closer and closer, let’s look at every American League team and predict their homerun leader:

Toronto Blue Jays: Anthony Santander

This may come as a shock after an awful 2025 season, but Santander has the highest ceiling of any Blue Jay. Santander has a history of hitting bombs, smashing 44 of them just 2 years ago, but a shoulder injury kept him to just 6 in 2025. While Vladdy and Springer are interesting candidates, we decided to go with the guy who was signed purely for power.

Prediction: 37 Homeruns

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge

Is this a surprise to anyone? Aaron Judge may be the best pure offensive player in Baseball, winning 3 MVPs in the last 4 years. The question isn’t will Judge lead the Yankees in homeruns (and practically every offensive category), it’s by how much.

Prediction: 52 Homeruns

Boston Red Sox: Roman Anthony

Is it too early to be in love with Roman Anthony? If it is, then we may be on the wrong side of history. Anthony has all the makings of a superstar, hitting for both high average and high power. On a team where homeruns won’t be their strong suit (barring a Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman signing), Anthony has an opportunity to shine in the power department.

Prediction: 33 Homeruns

Tampa Bay Rays: Junior Caminero

The Rays have been in .500 purgatory for 2 straight seasons, but a true bright spot on this team has been Junior Caminero. The slugger hit 45 bombs, the single-season runner up im franchise history, at just 22-years-old, making him one of the most interesting players to watch for years to come. Whether he takes another step or regresses slightly, he has the power to lead his team in many ways, especially in power.

Prediction: 36 Homeruns

Baltimore Orioles: Gunnar Henderson

This one was truly difficult to choose, as multiple names jump out as threats on a scary Baltimore lineup. We almost went with Tyler O’Neil, considered Taylor Ward, and thought of Jackson Holliday, but we ultimately went with talent. Gunnar Henderson had a rather middle-of-the-road season, but his 2024 was truly special, as he smashed 38 balls over the fence as a SS. A lot of players could end up bouncing back or breaking through, but ultimately Henderson has the best track record.

Prediction: 31 Homeruns

Cleveland Guardians: Jose Ramirez

While he doesn’t have the MVPs to show for it, Jose Ramirez has been the most consistently great player for years, finishing top 5 in MVP voting 6 times in his career. One of the reasons is his power, as he has 289 bombs at the hot corner in his career. On top of that, his team is not super powerful, with their stars like Steven Kwan are more-so contacts oriented. Even without that bonus, there’s no doubt in our minds that Ramirez will be the MVP of the Guardians once again.

Prediction: 35 Homeruns

Detroit Tigers: Riley Greene

We were so close to taking Spencer Torkelson, who had a great breakout season in 2025, but Riley Greene has the power to dominate with power. Hitting 36 homers in his age-24 season, Greene has major power and room to grow along with it. A Torkelson power burst would not surprise us, but we like Greene’s chances just a bit more.

Prediction: 38 Homeruns

Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez

The Royals seem a little top-heavy entering 2026; players such as Bobby Witt Jr. cover up a team without a lot of depth. One of these players is the catcher, Salvador Perez, who smashed 30 homeruns in his age-35 season. Despite his age, he doesn’t have a lot of competition on his team, as the aforementioned Witt is more of a high-power contact hitter.

Prediction: 27 Homeruns

Minnesota Twins: Matt Wallner

On a Twins team with barely any depth, Wallner proves to be one of the few power bats in Minnesota. After a turbulent 2025 and massive fire sale at the deadline, Wallner will likely barely face any competition for the Twins homerun leader. The only true candidate other than Wallner is Byron Buxton, but we would be (pleasantly) surprised to see him play more than 100 games.

Prediction: 26 Homeruns

Chicago White Sox: Lenyn Sosa

The White Sox have been, and likely will be, the worst team in the AL, with barely anything going their way the past 2 years. Despite this, Sosa had a nice breakout season, clobbering 22 homers in 2025 at just 35 years of age. While the rest of his teammates will either suck or get traded, Sosa can at least bask in the glory of being the team’s homerun leader.

Prediction: 25 Homeruns

Seattle Mariners: Cal Raleigh

Cal Raleigh had an MVP-level season in 2025, mashing a league-leading 60 homers with the M’s. While he will very likely not reach that level of success again, he’s still a 40-homer bat and the best power hitter on his team. Sure, Julio Rodriguez may be the better overall player, but Raleigh beats him in power.

Prediction: 43 Homeruns

Houston Astros: Yordan Alvarez

The Astors have some great talent, especially in the rotation, but they have a surprising lack of power; stars like Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve focus more on their average than their homerun total. However, they do have one of the best designated hitters in Baseball: Yordan Alvarez. Similar to Santander, injuries kept Alvarez to just 6 bombs on the year, but his talent and 30-homer history makes him an attractive candidate for the Astros Homerun King.

Prediction: 36 Homeruns

Texas Rangers: Corey Seager

The Rangers, still on a World Series hangover, had a poor 2025, going .500 on the year. Despite the poor record, this team oozes talent, particularly at the SS position. Corey Seager has had a great career, mashing 221 homers across the Dodgers and Rangers. While other names like Marcus Semien and Wyatt Langford, we put our money on the 2-time World Series MVP to bounceback in 2026.

Prediction: 32 Homeruns

The Athletics: Nick Kurtz

We asked this question before with Roman Anthony, but we’ll ask it again: is it too early to fall in love with Nick Kurtz? The AL ROTY had a historically great 2025, mashing a whopping 36 bombs in his first season. Will he do it again? That’s impossible to answer, but his young age and immediate success are good signs for a tremendous sophomore season

Prediction: 35 Homeruns

Los Angeles Angels: Jo Adell

Jo Adell decided to breakout for the Angels last year, hitting 37 homers in 2025. With a lack of competition from an aging Mike Trout, Adell should have a clear path to being the Angels homerun leader once again. Anaheim’s odds of success aren’t high, but its players like Adell that can change the narrative

Prediction: 33 Homeruns

Who do you think will lead your team in homeruns? Let us know on X, @Full_Count_Blog