Major League Baseball is a big source of sports betting action from April until October — even on days when there are no games. The MLB All-Star Game itself will always be the main event, but the highlight for many comes on the first night of the festivities with the Home Run Derby.
Some of baseball’s best sluggers come to put on a show. Colorado online sportsbooks respond by offering a variety of betting lines on the competitors.
Below, we’ll cover all you need to know for betting on the Home Run Derby in Colorado, including updated odds, HR Derby trends and more.
2023 Home Run Derby odds
See below for the best current odds on the Home Run Derby contestants at Colorado online sportsbooks. Odds change as the event plays out so use your favorite sports betting app to get your bets in each round. Click on the odds or sportsbook name below to claim your bonus and start betting. (Odds via DraftKings as of July 12).
| 2021 Home Run Derby odds | DraftKings Sportsbook |
|---|---|
| To win | Shohei Ohtani +260 Joey Gallo +450 Pete Alonso +500 Matt Olson +580 Salvador Perez +800 Juan Soto +800 Trevor Story +800 Trey Mancini +1300 |
Trevor Story could offer good value to bettors
The fact Story is sitting at +800 odds, in his home ballpark, makes betting on the Home Run Derby a little more intriguing if you’re a Colorado Rockies fan. It’s also a little bit surprising. There’s no doubt that Shohei Ohtani is the favorite (+400). But you would think the Rockies shortstop would get some bump from playing at Coors Field. That’s why he could offer good value to bettors looking at a potential longshot. Also keep in mind that since 2001, the betting favorite in the Home Run Derby is 2-17.
Not that it has any impact, but the last, and only, time the Home Run Derby was at Coors Field in 1998, then-Rockies third baseman Vinny Castilla failed to advance out of Round One.
Home Run Derby rules and format
Before you put any money on the line, you should know how the Home Run Derby works.
- The event is made up of eight players, who are seeded No. 1 through 8.
- The defending champion (if returning) is the top seed; home run totals from a predetermined time period are used to seed the rest of the field.
- Field is divided into a traditional bracket-style format with three rounds of head-to-head competition.
- The field of eight is cut to four and then two for the championship round.
- In each head-to-head matchup, hitters have four minutes to hit as many home runs as possible.
- Each batter also has a 45-second timeout in each round, although finalists are granted a pair of timeouts.
- Players can earn 30 seconds of bonus time in each round with two homers of 440-plus feet.
- The higher seed hits second in each round.
How do Home Run Derby betting odds work?
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to understand. Home Run Derby betting lines are posted once the field is set and are laid out identically to any other futures market. Let’s look at an example from FanDuel Sportsbook CO:
Betting on the Home Run Derby is closer to betting on the winner of a division or a pennant than on a traditional baseball game. As is the case with most futures, picking a Home Run Derby winner comes with pretty long odds for many of the participants, meaning that selecting a champion could earn a large payout.
As the field is cut down in real time, live betting odds should provide even more betting opportunities. For those who aren’t interested in picking the winner of the event, there are alternative betting options. These markets don’t have odds quite as juicy, but they can still be profitable and provide bettors with different rooting interests throughout the night.
Depending on the sportsbook, the options may include the following:
- Home Run Derby winner
- Longest Home Run
- Player to hit the longest HR
- Exact Outcome
- League of winner
- Handedness of winner
- Head-to-head matchups
- Over/Under HR (total or by round)
- Total combined HR for competition
Check your sportsbook for the full lineup of Derby props on offer.
Home Run Derby betting tips
The Home Run Derby is a one-off event that represents a unique change of pace. Plus, it’s an exhibition meant to showcase the game in a different way to a large audience. The point being, there is no set blueprint for winning money on the derby.
That said, there are some measures that bettors can take to give themselves the best opportunity to win. So keep the following Home Run Derby betting strategies and tips in mind when the All-Star break comes and you want to pick out a few sluggers to root for (or against):
- Use the Bracket to Your Advantage: Once the participants are seeded No. 1 through 8, the bracket and eventual matchups are set. This means you can map out a path to the championship for each contestant, which could inform your wagering decisions.
- Avoid the Biggest Favorite: It’s hard to scroll by that top name and pick players further down the board, but we’d recommend it. More distant contenders still have a great chance to win, and their payouts are larger. There isn’t much separating the top name with the fifth or sixth name, so there’s some value there. The favorite does win sometimes, but more times than not, another player does.
- Fade Certain Players Head to Head: Rather than picking a winner from an eight-man field, it may be easier to bet on or against certain hitters in head-to-head matchups. With conventional betting, you can fade an entire team or a particular pitcher, but never one particular hitter. The Home Run Derby allows for that if you feel a specific player is set up for failure in this event.
- Remember it’s an Exhibition: We’d recommend betting no more (probably less) on a fun event like the Home Run Derby than on a game that counts for something. You can be sure each player wants to win, but you’re not getting the same competitive fire in this one. Thus, be careful about the money you put on the line. You’d hate to lose painfully on an event its actual participants are treating as casual fun.
Recent Home Run Derby winners
The Major League Baseball Home Run Derby has been around since 1985. In the nearly four decades since its inception, we’ve seen all types of players win the event. On many occasions, it’s one of the league’s elite hitters or home run powerhouses taking home the award.
But sometimes, a surprise player slips in there and steals the show. Here are all the winners from the last decade, many of which were among baseball’s best:
| Year | Champion | Team | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Home Run Derby was not Played | ||
| 2019 | Pete Alonso | New York Mets | Progressive Field, Cleveland |
| 2018 | Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals | Nationals Park, Washington D.C. |
| 2017 | Aaron Judge | New York Yankees | Marlins Park, Miami |
| 2016 | Giancarlo Stanton | Miami Marlins | Petco Park, San Diego |
| 2015 | Todd Frazier | Cincinnati Reds | Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati |
| 2014 | Yoenis Cespedes | Oakland Athletics | Target Field, Minneapolis |
| 2013 | Yoenis Cespedes | Oakland Athletics | Citi Field, New York |
| 2012 | Prince Fielder | Detroit Tigers | Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City |
| 2011 | Robinson Cano | New York Yankees | Chase Field, Phoenix |
Rockies in the Home Run Derby
Trevor Story will be the 12th player from the Colorado Rockies to participate in the Hume Run Derby. Since its start in 1985, the Rockies have been represented by:
- Dante Bichette (1994)
- Ellis Burks (1996)
- Larry Walker (1997, 1999)
- Vinny Castilla (1998)
- Todd Helton (2001)
- Matt Holliday (2007)
- Carlos Gonzalez (2012)
- Michael Cuddyer (2013)
- Troy Tulowitzki (2014)
- Justin Morneau (2014)
- Charlie Blackmon (2017)
The best finish was Walker’s, who made the finals in his 1997 appearance but lost to Tino Martinez. Blackmon hit 14 dingers in the first round in 2017 but lost by one to Cody Bellinger.