Major League Baseball’s All-Star break will kick off on Monday night with the 2022 Home Run Derby.
DraftKings Sportsbook has made back-to-back defending champion Pete Alonso (+200) the favorite, with Kyle Schwarber (+340), Juan Soto (+500), Ronald Acuna Jr. (+650), Julio Rodriguez (+800), Corey Seager (+1200), Jose Ramirez (+1800) and Albert Pujols (+2200) filling out the rest of the field.
Given his recent dominance in the event, Alonso has garnered the majority of the bets (25.7%) and handle (36.9%), according to PointsBet media analytics manager Wyatt Yearout. With such a high volume of bets being placed on Alonso, it would benefit bettors to look at more creative ways to maximize their money on the 2022 derby.
So, here are five bets to consider for the 2022 Home Run Derby with prices courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:
Pete Alonso’s Longest Home Run: Over 470.5ft (-105)
Alonso isn’t only the only winner participant in the 2022 derby, but he’s hit the longest home run this season out of anyone in this year’s field with his 489-foot blast against the Minnesota Twins in 2019. The pop hasn’t left either, as he’s hit more than 10 home runs over 400-feet this season.
Total Swing-Offs: Over 0.5 (+105)
The Home Run Derby is now a match play event, with seven individual matchups making up the total contest. There has been a swing off in each of the last two derby events, with Juan Soto taking part in one last season.
Total Home Runs: Over 251.5 (+100)
The Derby field hit 309 home runs at Coors Field in Denver last year. They hit 313 at Progressive Field in Cleveland in 2019. On a hot, humid night in Los Angeles, this over might clear easily.
Winner: Julio Rodriguez (+800)
While Alonso and Schwarber have made up almost half of the total bets (48.2%) and over half of the handle (58.1%) on PointsBet, Rodriguez has been third in bets (14.6%) and handle (16.3%) behind that duo. NESN’s Sam Panyatovich made his case for Rodriguez on Friday, stating he may be the smartest individual choice for the 2022 event.
League of Winner: American League (+250)
If you do feel strongly about Rodriguez taking home the derby crown chain, sprinkling some money on the American League to win the event might be a smart move. The AL has +250 odds, while the NL is favored with -320 odds due to the belief in Alonso and Schwarber. Even if Rodriguez doesn’t win, there are two other AL bats contending for the title.
