Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton Favoured In Home Run Derby

If we’re being honest, it’s the slowest sports week of the year with Major League Baseball on its All-Star break. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to wager on. As usual, MLB stages it’s Home Run Derby on Monday night, this year from San Diego’s Petco Park — which is considered pitcher-friendly. Pretty sure that won’t matter on Monday, when your favourite will be Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton at +300 on Sports Interaction baseball odds.

Stanton Hits Them Far

It’s hard to argue against Stanton as he probably has the most true power of any player in the majors right now. I’m not really sure how accurate those home run distance trackers are, but Stanton has the longest of the season at 490 feet on May 6. That was at Marlins Park off Phillies right-hander Hector Neris with an exit velocity of 113 mph. According to ESPN, it was the second-longest homer hit in the majors since Stanton’s debut in 2010. The only one longer? A 494-footer by Stanton. He started the season a bit slowly but has come on of late and has 20 dingers. The Derby has been a bracket-style competition for a few years and Stanton faces off against Seattle’s Robinson Cano (+1000 to win the Derby) in Round 1. Players were seeded No. 1 through No. 8, based on home run totals through last Wednesday. Stanton is No. 5 and Cano No. 4.

Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo is the +375 second-favourite on MLB odds. He leads the majors with 28 homers and is the top seed, facing off against Dodgers rookie and No. 8 Corey Seager (+900) in the first round. The winner of that match faces the Stanton-Cano winner in the semifinals.

San Diego’s Wil Myers is at +550. He’s the sixth seed and faces the Reds’ Adam Duvall (+600) in Round 1. The winner of that faces either No. 2 Todd Frazier (+600) of the White Sox or No. 7 Carlos Gonzalez (+800) of the Rockies. Frazier won it last year, beating the Dodgers’ Joc Pederson in the final, in Cincinnati while with the Reds. He was traded this offseason to Chicago. The Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg in 1984 was the only other time a player from the hosting team won the Derby.

Last year to help speed things up, MLB added a clock. There are four minutes per batter for each round. The clock starts with the release of the first pitch but is stopped with each home run hit during the final minute. In the first round and semifinals, each batter is allowed one 45-second timeout. In the finals, each batter is given two 45-second timeouts. Thirty seconds of bonus time are awarded for two home runs that each equal or exceed 440 feet.

For what it’s worth, left-handed hitters have won seven of the past 10 Derbys and 14 of the past 19. But the past three winners have been right-handed. American League batters have won seven of the last nine and 10 of the last 14.

Home Run Derby Prediction

The bottom half of the bracket looks a bit easier, so I’ll go with Frazier to repeat.