A Look at Each MLB Team's 2024 Home Run King
Ohtani and Judge led their respective leagues, but here's a look at each club's most powerful season.
We were blessed with two 50-homer campaigns this season thanks to Aaron Judge (58) and Shohei Ohtani (54). They led their respective leagues in dingers, but who are the 2024 MLB home run leaders for each club?
Similar to what I did in 2022 and 2023, below are the single-season home run kings for all 30 MLB teams from this past season. Scroll down to see who has taken home the crown for their squad this year.
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Angels: Taylor Ward, 25 Home Runs
Shohei Ohtani now plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mike Trout was limited to just 29 games because of injury. So, that provided Taylor Ward an opportunity to be the Angels' 2024 home run king. His 25-homer output is the second time he's surpassed the 20-homer plateau. This is also a new single-season career-high mark for him, beating the 23 he slugged for LA in 2023.
Ward did the majority of his work in the home-run department at the start and end of his regular season. He slugged a season-high seven homers in both March/April and September. Between that time, he didn't didn't hit more than four in one month. The 30-year-old only hit seven total dingers between June and August before posting a season-best .906 OPS in his final 114 plate appearances.
Astros: Yordan Alvarez, 35 Home Runs
This is a spot Yordan Alvarez is getting used to occupying for the Astros. It's the third straight year he's led the team in home runs. He's also building a reputation for himself. Alvarez slugged 27 homers through 87 games as a rookie in 2019. After playing in just two games in 2020, he's suited up for at least 114 games each of the last four years. When that happens, you can pencil the dude in for 30-plus homers and 80-plus RBI.
While the left-handed slugger was solid at Minute Maid Park, he thrived on the road this past year. Alvarez slashed .283/.362/.466 with 13 homers and 30 RBI in 315 plate appearances at home. However, he improved dramatically on the road. That's evidenced by a .333/.422/.670 line with 22 homers and 56 RBI in a similar sample size (320 plate appearances).
Athletics: Brent Rooker, 39 Home Runs
The 2024 season was Brent Rooker's second full big-league campaign. It resulted in his second 30-homer performance, leading the A's for the second straight year. He took a step forward in just about every way imaginable on offense. His OPS went from .817 in 2023 to .927 this past year while setting new career-high marks for homers (39) and RBI (112).
Rooker was equally effective against righties (.921 OPS) and lefties (.949 OPS). The same could be said about his performance before and after the All-Star break (.942 OPS in the first half and .909 OPS in the second half). The right-handed slugger spent most of his time as Oakland's designated hitter but split his plate appearances almost evenly between the second, third, and fourth spots of the lineup. His homer production was also split evenly -- he hit 10 homers as the two-hitter, another 10 as the three-hitter, and 18 as the cleanup hitter.
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 30 Home Runs
Following his breakout 2021 campaign, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. saw his OPS drop each of the following two seasons. He stopped that trend in 2024. After posting a .788 OPS in 2023, that number settled in at .940 this past season. That's his highest since producing a 1.002 mark in 2021. He's reached the 30-homer plateau for the third time in four years, and his 103 RBI is the second time he's surpassed the century mark.
Vlad Jr.'s season got off to a slow start. By the end of April, he had just three homers with 11 RBI and a .678 OPS. But that's when he turned on the afterburners and kept them on for five months. From May 1 through the end of the year (561 plate appearances), Guerrero hit .345/.412/.590 with 27 homers and 92 RBI. That was accompanied by a 9.8% walk rate and a 12.1% strikeout rate.
Braves: Marcell Ozuna, 39 Home Runs
Marcell Ozuna had just one season of 30-plus homers through his first 10 seasons (37 in 2017 with the Miami Marlins). He's now done it in two straight years for the Braves, slugging 40 in 2023 and now 39 in 2024. His 104 RBI are his most in one year since that 2017 performance. It's also the first time he's reached the century mark in consecutive seasons.
Ozuna set the tone with a ridiculous start. He slashed .327/.400/.636 with nine homers and 31 RBI over his first 120 plate appearances in March/April. The right-handed slugger surpassed that homer total in July (10) but didn't accumulate more than 18 RBI in a month the rest of the season.
Brewers: Willy Adames, 32 Home Runs
Willy Adames' final year before reaching free agency went pretty well. He set new single-season career-high marks in homers (32), RBI (112), doubles (33), runs scored (93), and total hits (153). The shortstop now has five years of 20-plus homers, which has come in each full season since 2019. He's surpassed 30 dingers twice in the past three years, too.
Adames was rather consistent throughout 2024. He hit either four or five homers in a month five times. The only outlier was August -- he slugged 10 homers with 24 RBI for Milwaukee, both of which were season-high marks. He swung at the first pitch in 213 plate appearances, and it was better when he didn't. Adames posted a .595 OPS with six homers when he did that, compared to a .887 OPS and 26 homers in 475 plate appearances when he took the first pitch.
Cardinals: Paul Goldschmidt, 22 Home Runs
Paul Goldschmidt's 2024 with the Cardinals wasn't what we've grown to expect from him. His .716 OPS and 65 RBI were the lowest numbers he's ever produced in one season. His 22 homers were his lowest in a year he played at least 140 games since 2012. However, he still took home St. Louis' 2024 home run crown.
While his production was still a far cry from his overall track record, it's worth noting that Goldschmidt's offense picked up after the All-Star break. He slashed .230/.291/.373 with 13 homers and 37 RBI in the first half. That was followed by a .271/.319/.480 triple slash with nine homers and 28 RBI in the second half.
Cubs: Ian Happ, 25 Home Runs
Ian Happ has been a consistent producer for the Cubs. Chicago has been able to essentially pencil in what he'll contribute since it's been almost identical each year since 2021. Check it out:
2021: .757 OPS, 25 homers, 66 RBI
2022: .781 OPS, 17 homers, 72 RBI
2023: .791 OPS, 21 homers, 84 RBI
2024: .782 OPS, 25 homers, 86 RBI
Those numbers don't jump off the page, but every club could use them in their lineup somewhere. Happ's most productive inning of the year when it comes to his power numbers was the sixth. He posted a .882 OPS with five homers and 16 RBI during that frame. He also split his homers as close to down the middle as you can when looking at his starter/reliever splits. Happ slugged 12 dingers against starting pitchers and 13 against dudes coming out of the bullpen.
Diamondbacks: Ketel Marte, 36 Home Runs
Ketel Marte's home-run production has gone on quite the roller coaster since breaking out with 32 dingers in 2019. He followed that with two in 45 games during 2020, 14 in 90 games during 2021, and then 12 in 145 games during 2022. He got back over the 20-homer plateau in 2023 with 25 dingers through 150 games. But once 2024 rolled around, he set a new career-high mark with 36 in just 136 games.
Named an All-Star for the second time, Marte was an equal-opportunity slugger. The switch hitter slugged 18 homers with 50 RBI in 371 plate appearances against right-handed hitters. Despite facing lefties just 212 times, he also hit 18 homers with 45 RBI against them. Marte didn't post a double-digit homer month in 2024. His high was seven, which he did twice and in consecutive months (June and July). However, he didn't hit fewer than five in any month during the regular season.
Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani, 54 Home Runs
It's safe to say that Shohei Ohtani has adjusted to life with the Dodgers seamlessly. His 54 homers are a new career-high mark. And while Judge was the only hitter in 2024 to slug more dingers, Ohtani set the Dodgers' DH record and overall single-season home run record while becoming the first player to have at least 50 homers and 50 steals in one season.
Ohtani hit at least 10 homers in three different innings during the 2024 season. He did it in the first (11), third (11), and fifth (10). He also hit 34 homers off starters and 20 off relievers. What I love about his production against starters is that he was essentially the same hitter whether he faced someone for the first, second, or third time. He posted a .974 OPS with 11 homers in his first at-bat. Those numbers were 1.007 and 11 the second time through the lineup. If he got to see a starter for the third time, he posted a 1.240 OPS with 12 homers.
Giants: Matt Chapman, 27 Home Runs
Matt Chapman has won no. 26 throughout his MLB career. But maybe he should change it to 27? His .790 OPS in 2024 for the Giants, which was accompanied by 27 homers and 78 RBI. Those 27 homers are significant because he's landed on that total three times since 2021. The only time he didn't was in 2023 with the Blue Jays when he finished with 17 homers.
Chappy found another gear for the Giants over the regular season's final two months. Through the end of July, he didn't hit more than four homers or 14 RBI in a single month (he did hit seven doubles each month, though). But over his final 188 plate appearances, the third baseman slashed .260/.314/.555 with 12 homers (six in each month) and 25 RBI.
Guardians: Jose Ramirez, 39 Home Runs
Jose Ramirez was just a couple of extra-base hits away from having a truly epic year. He finished with 39 homers, 118 RBI, 41 steals, and 39 doubles. Joining the 40-40 club would've been cool, but joining the 40-40-40 club would've been even cooler. He still had an incredible season and will likely finish within the top 10 of the AL MVP Award voting for the seventh time in his career.
Ramirez was clutch with runners in scoring position in 2024. He hit 326/.394/.597 with 10 homers and 72 RBI for Cleveland in that situation. He got even better in this scenario with two outs. His triple slash jumped to .385/.448/.731 in 58 plate appearances. This is exactly what you'd want from someone in the middle of your lineup. Ramirez spent all but six of his 158 games in 2024 as the Guardians' three-hole hitter. He enjoyed hitting in the eighth inning the most this past year. His OPS (1.348) was the highest of any frame. The same could be said about his homer (10) and RBI (27) totals.
Mariners: Cal Raleigh, 34 Home Runs
Cal Raleigh set a franchise home run record for catchers in 2023 with 30 dingers. He one-upped himself in 2024 with another 34 taters. "Big Dumper" has slugged 93 dingers through his first four big-league seasons. That's the most by a primary catcher in their first four years in MLB history (the mark was previously held by Mike Piazza with 92).
Raleigh hit at least three homers against four teams in 2024. However, there was one squad he enjoyed hitting against the most. That would be the Athletics. The backstop slugged six homers with 12 RBI and a 1.131 OPS in 12 games when facing them. He also made sure to feast against losing teams. Raleigh posted a .872 OPS with 22 homers in 298 plate appearances, compared to a .641 OPS with 12 homers in 330 plate appearances against winning teams.
Marlins: Jake Burger, 29 Home Runs
Jake Burger slugged 34 homers in 2023 while splitting time between the Chicago White Sox and Marlins. As we can see here, he was just one dinger shy of reaching the 30-homer plateau in consecutive seasons. His production between 2023 and 2024 looks quite similar, though. That '23 campaign included 34 homers, 80 RBI, 28 doubles, and 71 runs scored with a .828 OPS in 141 games. This past season, those numbers settled in at 29, 76, 23, 68, and .760, respectively, in 137 games.
This wouldn't have been possible without Burger turning his season around in the second half. Leading up to the All-Star Game, he hit .225/.265/.370 with 10 homers and 35 RBI in 73 games. He followed that with a .279/.339/.562 triple slash with 19 homers and 41 RBI in 64 games.
Mets: Pete Alonso, 34 Home Runs
Pete Alonso's 2024 production took a bit of a step backward when compared to what he did in full seasons between 2019 and 2023. His 34 homers and 88 RBI are his lowest totals when playing a 162-game schedule. But still, it's the fifth time he's surpassed the 30-homer plateau as he heads into free agency. Judge is the only guy who has hit more homers than him since 2019 (and he needed two seasons of 50-plus homers to get the job done). Alonso's 226 career taters rank third all-time in Mets history, as well.
The Polar Bear upped his production when New York squared off against winning teams. He posted a .837 OPS with 21 homers with 51 RBI through 93 games in that situation, compared to a .727 OPS with 13 homers and 37 RBI in 69 games against losing teams.
Nationals: CJ Abrams, 20 Home Runs
While the narrative about CJ Abrams' 2024 campaign will revolve around a late-season trip to the casino, he put together a solid on-field performance for the Nationals. Despite accumulating 12 fewer plate appearances this past season compared to 2023, the shortstop set new single-season career-high marks in homers (20), RBI (65), doubles (29), and OPS (.747) while swiping 31 bags and being named to the NL All-Star team as a 23-year-old.
Abrams' power numbers at home (nine homers and 32 RBI) were nearly identical to what he produced on the road (11 homers and 33 RBI). However, his overall offensive production was more valuable as a visiting player. He posted a .816 OPS and 131 OPS+ on the road, compared to a .667 OPS and 87 OPS+ at Nationals Park.
Orioles: Anthony Santander, 44 Home Runs
Anthony Santander picked a good time to set single-season career-high marks in the power department. The switch-hitter slugged 44 homers with 102 RBI and was named a 2024 AL All-Star for the first time in his career. He'll hope to take all that to the bank this winter as he enters free agency.
Santander fought through a slow start to reach these heights by the end of September. Through two months, the outfielder had just nine homers and 29 RBI. He proceeded to slug 13 homers with 26 RBI in June. It was his first of two straight months with an OPS of at least .960. His production proved to be crucial for the Orioles' ultimate results -- Santander had a 1.010 OPS in wins and a .565 mark in losses.
Padres: Manny Machado, 29 Home Runs
Manny Machado officially passed Nate Colbert on the Padres' all-time home run list during the 2024 season. He did it while having what's become a typical year for him in San Diego. The third baseman first joined the club in 2019. Here's what his power production has been each season since then (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign):
2019: 32 homers, 85 RBI
2021: 28 homers, 106 RBI
2022: 32 homers, 102 RBI
2023: 30 homers, 91 RBI
2024: 29 homers, 105 RBI
Those numbers, combined with solid defense and durability (he's played in 150 games in four of these seasons), and he's worth the financial investment.
Like many on this list, Machado had to fight through a slow start to reach his end-of-season numbers. He had an 86 wRC+ with five homers and 29 RBI in 232 plate appearances through the end of May. From June 1 through the rest of the year, he produced a 142 wRC+ with 24 homers and 76 RBI in 411 trips to the plate.
Phillies: Kyle Schwarber, 38 Home Runs
The 2024 season was Kyle Schwarber's third in Philadelphia. He nearly put together his third straight 40-homer campaign. Settling in at 38 isn't too shabby, especially when it's combined with hitting an MLB-record 15 leadoff homers.
Schwarber was consistent when looking at his numbers between the first and second half. He slugged 19 homers with 54 RBI and a .830 OPS before the All-Star break, followed by another 19 homers, 50 RBI, and a .876 OPS following the midsummer classic. He saved his best work for September, with his 1.013 OPS, 10 homers, and 22 RBI being the highest of any month.
Pirates: Bryan Reynolds, 24 Home Runs
Bryan Reynolds' 692 plate appearances in 2024 was 52 more than what he accumulated for the Pirates in 2023. A lot of his numbers look nearly identical to the year before, though. That includes his OPS (.791 in '24 vs. .790 in '23), homers (24 in each campaign), RBI (88 vs. 84), and doubles (29 vs. 31). At least he's consistent! The outfielder was also named an NL All-Star for the second time in his career.
While his OPS differed when looking at his at-bats when Pittsburgh was ahead, behind, or the score was tied, his power numbers were close to mirroring one another. Reynolds had seven homers with 38 RBI when Pittsburgh had a lead, nine homers and 26 RBI when they were behind, as well as eight homers and 24 RBI when the score was even.
Rangers: Corey Seager, 30 Home Runs
Corey Seager's 2024 campaign was his third with the Rangers. It was the second straight year he failed to appear in at least 130 games, but he also reached the 30-homer plateau for the third time. The shortstop hit 30 on the dot with 74 RBI, 68 runs scored, and 21 doubles in 533 plate appearances (123 games played). His slugging percentage dropped to .512 this past season compared to the .623 mark he produced in 2023, mostly because he didn't record as many doubles. Seager doubled a league-leading 42 times in '23, compared to 21 times in '24.
The 30-year-old's performance was much better after removing a slow first month, as well. Seager had a .631 OPS by the end of April, but that number jumped up to .931 from May 1 through the end of his season. He accumulated 53 plate appearances with two outs and runners in scoring position, which resulted in an eye-popping .366/.509/.756 line.
Rays: Brandon Lowe, 21 Home Runs
For the second straight season, Brandon Lowe finished with 21 homers. This time around, it led the Rays in that department. Lowe hasn't replicated the 39-homer barrage he put together in 2021, but he's proven to be a consistent source of production for Tampa Bay while mostly locking down second base.
Lowe's offensive numbers were closely tied with how the Rays performed as a team. He slashed .347/.394/.695 with 15 homers and 46 RBI in games Tampa Bay won (50). Those numbers dropped to .144/.230/.256, six, and 12, respectively in Rays losses he appeared in (57). These numbers make sense -- he spent the majority of his plate appearances hitting either second or third in the lineup. It's hard to win when someone at the top of your lineup isn't producing.
Red Sox: Tyler O'Neill, 31 Home Runs
Tyler O'Neill hit 34 homers for the Cardinals in 2021. He proceeded to hit a combined 23 dingers over the two seasons that followed while being limited to 168 games. The outfielder stayed healthy more often in Boston, appearing in 113 games. It led to him slugging a team-leading 31 dingers as he heads for free agency in the winter.
His most powerful month of the year was March/April. O'Neill slugged nine dingers with 12 RBI and a 1.127 OPS during that time. There was also a bit of symmetry in his performance. He hit 16 homers at Fenway Park and 15 on the road. That matched what he did in the first half (16 homers) compared to the second half (15 homers).
Reds: Elly De La Cruz, 25 Home Runs
A lot of people will point to Elly De La Cruz's league-leading 218 strikeouts in 2024 as concerning. Is there some truth to that? Sure, but then again, he put together some great numbers for someone in his age-22 campaign. Cruz's OPS jumped nearly 100 points between 2023 (.710) to 2024 (.809). He also racked up 25 homers, 36 doubles, 10 triples, 76 RBI, 105 runs scored, and a league-leading 67 steals.
Heading into 2025, Cruz will be trying to figure out how he can sustain his March/April 2024 production over an extended period. By the end of April, he was hitting .279/.385/.577 with eight homers, 19 RBI, 27 runs scored, and 18 steals. His .962 OPS was the highest of any month, and it surpassed .900 just one other time (.929 in July).
Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar, 26 Home Runs
Ezequiel Tovar took a significant step forward at the plate in his second MLB campaign. He set new career-high marks in homers (26), RBI (78), runs scored (83), OPS (.783), and doubles (45, which led the league). His .295 OPS wasn't much different than his career number (.290), but there's still time for the 22-year-old to improve.
As with the case for most Rockies hitters, I like to look at home/road splits to see if there's a significant drop-off away from Coors Field. In this case, Tovar was essentially the same hitter regardless of where he played. The shortstop had a .773 OPS with 13 homers, 17 doubles, and 42 RBI in 346 plate appearances at home. Through 349 trips to the plate as a visiting player, he posted a .754 OPS with 13 homers, 28 doubles, and 36 RBI.
Royals: Bobby Witt Jr., 32 Home Runs
Bobby Witt Jr. was the first Royals shortstop to hit 30 home runs in 2023. He did it by hitting 30 on the button. He added 49 steals to become a member of the 30-30 club. Naturally, he saw this performance and decided to one-up himself.
The shortstop enjoyed another 30-30 season in 2024 and did a little bit of everything to show his value at the plate. He accumulated 9.4 bWAR while hitting .332/.389/.588 with 32 homers, 45 doubles, 109 RBI, 31 steals, and 125 runs scored. Witt won the AL batting title and also led the league with 211 hits.
His performance in July and August was ridiculous. He posted an OPS above 1.000 each month while hitting a combined 17 homers with 42 RBI.
Tigers: Riley Greene, 24 Home Runs
Riley Greene has enjoyed a nice power progression since debuting with the Tigers in 2024. He slugged five homers in 93 games as a rookie and followed that with 11 homers in 99 games during 2023. That led to a spike in production this past season, slugging a career-high and team-leading 24 taters for Detroit. Greene was also named an All-Star for the first time. The 23-year-old paired these homers with 27 doubles, 74 RBI, 82 runs scored, and a .827 OPS.
Greene accumulated at least 10 plate appearances as a left fielder, center fielder, right fielder, and designated hitter for the Tigers. His home-run production was spread throughout all these opportunities:
Left field: nine homers (349 PA)
Center Field: five homers (93 PA)
Right Field: two homers (10 PA)
DH: eight homers (130 PA)
He also racked up two plate appearances as a pinch-hitter but went hitless.
Twins: Carlos Santana, 23 Home Runs
Carlos Santana still has some pop left in his bat, folks. He slugged 23 homers in 2024, which was his age-38 campaign. It's also the second straight year he hit that many taters. The man was nothing if not consistent when looking at his monthly homer production.
Santana slugged exactly four homers in four different months (April/March through June and again in August). He hit just two in July and finished with his high-water mark for the year by slugging five in September. The veteran also thrived when being patient early in the count. He posted a .638 OPS with four homers when swinging at the first pitch. Those numbers went up to .784 and 19 when he took the first pitch.
White Sox: Andrew Benintendi, 20 Home Runs
Not much went right for the White Sox in 2024. That'll happen when you set the modern MLB record for most losses in a season. One thing that took a step forward, though, was Andrew Benintendi's season-long home run total. After hitting just five through 621 plate appearances in 2023, he slugged a team-high 20 through 522 trips to the plate this past season.
Unfortunately for Benny, his triple slash settled in at .229/.289/.396. His .685 OPS was only slightly better than what it was the year before (.682). Even with all those homers, his 189 total bases came up short when compared to his 2023 total (200). His performance did pick up after a rough first half. Benintendi entered the All-Star break with seven homers, 26 RBI, and a .568 OPS. Those numbers improved to 13, 38, and .830, respectively in 52 fewer plate appearances following the midsummer classic.
Yankees: Aaron Judge, 58 Home Runs
Last, but most certainly not the least. Actually -- the most. The Yankees' captain finished 2024 with the most homers in baseball.
I've mentioned Judge a few times throughout this post, and now it's finally his turn. The slugger is in rare territory with his second 50-homer season in three years. Counting his 52 homers as a rookie, he’s surpassed the half-century mark three times, which is crazy to think about. What might be crazier is that most of his production came in about two-thirds of a season. Judge posted a 1.322 OPS with 45 homers and 105 RBI in 103 games between May and August.
The slugger was good in nearly every situation you can think of in 2024. However, he elevated a little bit more when facing teams with a winning record. He posted a 1.076 OPS with 26 homers and 63 RBI against losing teams. Those numbers jumped to 1.246, 32, and 81, respectively, against winning squads.
I was quite surprised to see how many teams did not have a hitter get to 30 home runs. I expected to see my Pirates in either last place or next to last and didn’t realize how many other teams were there too.