When world news hits, so does Nick Castellanos. At least, that’s what bettors believe.
Key takeaways
- Castellanos' odds to hit a home run Monday against the N.Y. Mets skyrocketed at sportsbooks.
- Huge ticket counts and money continue to pour in on the Phillies' outfielder.
- Castellanos hit three home runs in 22 games this season.
Following Pope Francis' passing Monday, multiple sportsbooks saw heavy action backing the Philadelphia Phillies' outfielder’s home run prop for Monday’s game against the N.Y. Mets. BetMGM’s John Ewing reported Castellanos saw three times as many wagers to hit a dinger as any other player Monday.
Nick Castellanos has a history of hitting dingers during major news events or noteworthy deaths.
— John Ewing (@johnewing) April 21, 2025
Pope Francis just passed away.@Phillies outfielder (+625) is the most bet player to hit a Home Run today.
3X as many bets on Castellanos as any other player at @BetMGM pic.twitter.com/w8mJO2kJWz
The amount of action even forced a drastic line change.
FanDuel locked bettors out of wagering on Castellanos’ home run prop for a short time while it adjusted odds from as high as +680 down to +500 by Monday afternoon.
BetMGM reported late Monday afternoon that the Castellanos home run prop is receiving more bets than any single MLB team. Odds fell to +375.
Most-bet prop
BetMGM wasn’t alone in seeing a surge of Castellanos prop bets. ESPN BET told Covers Monday afternoon his “to hit a home run” market is the most-bet player prop of the day, across all sports, in total bets and handle.
Nick Castellanos to hit a home run is today's most bet player prop 💣 pic.twitter.com/apNvwahobW
— theScore Bet (@theScoreBet) April 21, 2025
DraftKings listed Castellanos as the most-bet home run player prop with +475 odds, ahead of Aaron Judge at +200 and Alex Bregman at +500 in its daily insights report. His odds to go yard on Monday since fell to +380.
Where it all started
The allure of wagering on the Phillies' outfielder to go deep originated when former Reds' announcer Thom Brennaman was giving an apology for using a homophobic slur in 2020. A Castellanos' home run interrupted the broadcaster, and a meme took shape.
Somehow, this morphed into any major news event leading to bettors backing Castellanos to hit a homer. Shortly after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 election, Castellanos went deep against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and bettors took notice.
They’re at it again Monday, and Castellanos needs to hit just his fourth home run in the 23rd game of the season. So far in 2025, the Philadelphia outfielder is batting .304 with 14 RBIs in 79 at-bats.
