The baseball season isn't too far away, making this a great time to get in some MLB betting via the robust futures market at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Let's take a look at some season-long home run props for a few hitters. The MLB season is a grind but can offer some solid edges for props that are backed by strong projections. There are three hitters that have my eye this season so let's jump in.

Julio Rodriguez Over 27.5 Home Runs (-110)

The Seattle Mariners boast one of the most exciting young players in the MLB: Julio Rodriguez.

After Rodriguez's breakout campaign last season, the Mariners locked him up with a 12-year extension, making him a cornerstone of their franchise. Rodriguez has all the tools you could possibly want in a player, which led him to a Rookie of the Year award last season. His success will only grow, and we want to capture some of that via his power potential this year.

His homer prop this season is sitting at 27.5 home runs, which is far too low. Let's start with the simple stuff.

Rodriguez finished with 28 home runs in 132 games played last season. He missed a number of games due to a few injuries but was still able to beat this 27.5 prop last year. If he's able to stay healthy for a full season, getting over 27.5 shouldn't be an issue.

Rodriguez has great underlying numbers, starting with a .225 Isolated Power (ISO), .366 weighted on-base average (wOBA), 146 weighted runs created plus (wRC+), 35.7% fly-ball rate, 34.6% hard-contact rate, and 21.4% homer-to-fly-ball (HR/FB) ratio. Last season, Rodriguez was in the 92nd percentile or higher for all of Average Exit Velocity, Max Exit Velocity, and Hard-Hit Percentage, according to BaseballSavant.

Rodriguez is on a path to superstardom, and his season-long home run prop doesn't reflect the true power he can show over the course of the full season. Over 27.5 home runs is the play for Rodriguez.

Austin Riley Over 32.5 Home Runs (-106)

When it comes to home runs, the Atlanta Braves' lineup can put them up in a hurry.

The Braves have been a big power-hitting team for multiple seasons, and it creates value for several of their hitters. We want to focus on Austin Riley and over 32.5 home runs this season.

Riley has been over this mark in each of the last two seasons and is truly one of the elite power hitters in the league, putting him in a spot to hit over 32.5 home runs again.

According to BaseballSavant, Riley was in the 95th percentile or higher last year in Average Exit Velocity, Max Exit Velocity, Hard-Hit Percentage, expected wOBA (xwOBA), expected slugging (xSLG), and Barrel Rate. Riley has all the power in the world and is a constant threat to knock one over the fence.

Last season, Riley finished with a .255 ISO, .377 wOBA, 142 wRC+, 38.6% fly-ball rate, and 39.5% hard-contact rate. His power is undeniable, and given the other power-hitters around him in the Braves' lineup, opposing pitchers don't really have the choice to pitch around him. Riley will constantly be in good hitting spots and can easily replicate the 38 home runs he posted last season.

If we glance at the projections on Riley's FanGraphs page, the average projection is 34.1 home runs. ZiPS and Steamer have him at 35 and 34 homers, respectively.

Salvador Perez Under 26.5 Home Runs (-105)

Lastly, let's take a look at under 26.5 home runs for Salvador Perez.

The Kansas City Royals' veteran catcher is coming off a 2022 season where he posted 23 home runs in 114 games, missing several weeks with a hand injury. While injuries are always a concern, there are a few other factors as to why I'm going with the under this season.

First off, the emergence of MJ Melendez last season. Melendez played 129 total games, 71 of which were as the Royals' catcher. This means Perez is no longer the full-time catcher, knocking his playing time down a bit. The Royals appear to be set on having Melendez be behind the plate for a portion of this season, getting him reps there during spring training.

Perez could be the primary DH for the Royals, but their lineup is a bit deeper than it has been in years past. Adding several role players will allow them to tinker with their lineup, which can impact the number of plate appearances Perez sees.

We can also look at Perez's career stats for home runs since he entered the MLB in 2011. However, I need to add a few notes to this so we can get a cleaner look at his average home runs per year. In 2011 and 2012, Perez wasn't a full-time player and played a total of 115 games over those two seasons, so let's get rid of those years. The 2020 season was shortened, and he played only 37 games, so let's remove that, as well.

In the eight other seasons Perez has been in the MLB, he has averaged 24.7 home runs per campaign. That total is kelp afloat by the 48 home runs he had in 2021, and his next highest home run total was 27 (in both 2017 and 2018). The season with 48 home runs is clearly an outlier, and if we remove it from his sample, his average home runs per year drops to 21.4.

I say all of this and haven't even mentioned the fact his ISO, wOBA, wRC+, and hard-hit rate all decreased last year compared to the prior two seasons.

Between Perez's playing time and underlying power numbers all trending down, there aren't many signs that would point to Perez having a bigger year at the plate. Under 26.5 home runs is the way to go.