Pete Alonso’s swing was made for the Home Run Derby.
New York Mets first baseman has been very good at MLB’s annual pre-All Star Game signature event. Alonso won in 2019 and again in 2021 after the 2020 derby didn’t take place. He was expected to take a third straight derby title last year, but Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez upset him in the semifinals. Juan Soto won last year’s derby.
Alonso is back, trying to match Ken Griffey Jr. as the only three-time winner of the award. And the odds think he will win it. Alonso is the favorite to win Home Run Derby at BetMGM with +300 odds.
It won’t be easy. MLB has a pretty good field for Monday’s event.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returns, and he barely lost to Alonso in the 2019 finals. He’s certainly capable of upsetting Alonso. Rodriguez will have the home fans in Seattle behind him. Here are the odds for all of the competitors:
Alonso +300
Guerrero +350
Luis Robert Jr. +450
Rodriguez +500
Adolis Garcia +650
Randy Arozarena +1000
Mookie Betts +1200
Adley Rutschman +2000
Betts might not be the best player to take; he told ESPN he doubts he can win because he doesn’t have the power of the other competitors. Or maybe Betts is just getting his opponents to overlook him.
Alonso is still a good bet, even as the favorite, because he has proven he is good at the event. But others down the odds have a good chance. Hey, at least there’s something to bet on this Monday.
Here’s the first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:
It’s MLB all-star break
The worst week of the sports year is here. With baseball’s regular season on break for a few days, there’s just not much going on. Home Run Derby is the highlight, mostly because there’s very little else. There’s some NBA summer league if you really want a game to watch (it’s odd there’s no WNBA on Monday).
But it’s also not the worst thing to take a bit of a break. And it’ll seem like a long break.
What’s the best bet?
Well, I’m not exactly going to endorse betting the Memphis Grizzlies’ summer league team over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Home Run Derby is a fun event to take someone with longer odds, and I have a feeling Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena will shine on Monday night. Let’s go with Arozarena at +1000.