Next week will mark the All-Star Game and related festivities for Major League Baseball, with the celebration set for Coors Field in Denver. The Home Run Derby takes place on Monday, with the All-Star Game coming the next night. Both of these events offer a great deal of excitement for sports betting enthusiasts, as the very best names in the game get to do what they do best. Let’s look at the Home Run Derby odds for both events.
MLB News: Home Run Derby and All-Star Game Odds
Home Run Derby Rules
How does the Home Run Derby work? The contestants are seeded and then matched head to head. Each player gets four minutes to slug home runs. If the player hits at least two home runs 440 feet or further, then the player gets 30 seconds of bonus time. Batters also get a 45-second time-out in the first and second rounds, and two timeouts in the finals, one that lasts 45 seconds and one that lasts 30 seconds. Each head to head winner advances through the bracket until a winner emerges. In the case of a tie, there are three tiebreakers: a 90-second swing-off, a three-pitch swing-off, and then sudden death swing-offs.
Home Run Derby Participants (as of July 6)
Pete Alonso (defending champions)
Shohei Ohtani
Trevor Story
Trey Mancini
Salvador Perez
Matt Olson
As of this writing, there are still two participants yet to be named, so odds have not yet been released. Pete Alonso will bring eight custom-painted bats to use in his rounds; if he wins, he would be the first repeat winner since 2013 and 2014, when Yoenis Cespedes pulled it off. Alonso is tied with Aaron Judge for the hardest hit this season, with a top exit velocity of 119 mph, according to Baseball Savant.
Shohei Ohtani is not only in the Home Run Derby, but he is also the first player ever named to the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and a position player. He leads MLB with 30 home runs as of July 4, as he sent two out of the park against the Baltimore Orioles.
Trevor Story is looking to become the fourth player to win the Home Run Derby in his home stadium. The last player to do this was Bryce Harper, in 2018. Only four other players — Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, J.D. Martinez and Nelson Cruz have hit more long balls in their home stadiums than the 88 that Story has hit at Coors Field since coming up to the Show in 2016.
Trey Mancini returns after beating cancer and has put together a terrific season in 2021 as a power hitter. He only needed 531 games to reach 100 home runs, which set a record for fastest to 100 for any Baltimore hitter.
Matt Olson hit 37 home runs in only 138 games at Advanced-A ball back in 2014. Since he came up to the major leagues, he has hit 20 or more home runs in each season except for 2020, which was shortened to 60 games thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salvador Perez makes a rare appearance for a catcher in a Home Run Derby; so far, Baseball Savant had him expected to hit 24.5 home runs, but he has only hit 20, the fourth-biggest deficit between actual and expected long balls.
All-Star Game Rosters
Odds have not come out for Tuesday’s game, but we do know who will play for both sides.
American League
| Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| C | Salvador Perez | KC |
| 1B | Vladimir Guerrero Jr | TOR |
| 2B | Marcus Semien | TOR |
| 3B | Rafael Devers | BOS |
| SS | Xander Bogaerts | BOS |
| OF | Mike Trout | LAA |
| OF | Aaron Judge | NYY |
| OF | Teoscar Hernandez | TOR |
| DH | Shohei Ohtani | LAA) |
| Reserves | ||
|---|---|---|
| C | Mike Zunino | TB |
| 1B | Jared Walsh | LAA |
| 1B | Matt Olson | OAK |
| 2B | Jose Altuve | HOU |
| 2B | Bo Bichette | TOR |
| SS | Carlos Correa | HOU |
| 3B | Jose Ramirez | CLE |
| OF | Michael Brantley | HOU |
| OF | Joey Gallo | TEX |
| OF | Adolis Garcia | TEX |
| OF | Cedric Mullins | BAL |
| DH | Nelson Cruz | MIN |
| DH | J.D. Martinez | BOS) |
| Pitchers | |
|---|---|
| Gerrit Cole | NYY |
| Lance Lynn | CHW |
| Shane Bieber | CLE |
| Nathan Eovaldi | BOS |
| Kyle Gibson | TEX |
| Yusei Kikuchi | SEA |
| Carlos Rodon | CHW |
| Aroldis Chapman | NYY |
| Liam Hendriks | CHW |
| Ryan Pressly | HOU |
| Matt Barnes | BOS |
| Gregory Soto | DET) |
National League
| Starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| C | Buster Posey | SF |
| 1B | Freddie Freeman | ATL |
| 2B | Adam Frazier | PIT |
| 3B | Nolan Arenado | STL |
| SS | Fernando Tatis Jr | SD |
| OF | Ronald Acuna Jr | ATL |
| OF | Nick Castellanos | CIN |
| OF | Jesse Winker | CIN |
| Reserves | ||
|---|---|---|
| C | J.T. Realmuto | PHI |
| 1B | Max Muncy | LAD |
| 2B | Ozzie Albies | ATL |
| 2B | Jake Cronenworth | SD |
| SS | Brandon Crawford | SF |
| SS | Trea Turner | WAS |
| 3B | Kris Bryant | CHC |
| 3B | Eduardo Escobar | ARI |
| OF | Mookie Betts | LAD |
| OF | Bryan Reynolds | PIT |
| OF | Kyle Schwarber | WAS |
| OF | Juan Soto | WAS |
| OF | Chris Taylor | LAD |
| Pitchers | |
|---|---|
| Jacob deGrom * | NYM |
| Yu Darvish | SD |
| Brandon Woodruff | MIL |
| Corbin Burnes | MIL |
| Kevin Gausman | SF |
| German Marquez | COL |
| Trevor Rogers | MIA |
| Zack Wheeler | PHI |
| Craig Kimbrel | CHC |
| Mark Melancon | SD |
| Josh Hader | MIL |
| Alex Reyes | STL |
*opted out of the All-Star Game
MLB Betting Odds
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