Henry Roldán
Next Monday, July 18, Dodger Stadium will be the home of a new edition of the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, an event that has already confirmed seven of its eight participants, including two-time champion Pete Alonso.
The list is completed by Ronald Acuña Jr. Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez, Corey Seager, Albert Pujols and José Ramírez. The event appears to be promising and will certainly provide us with a fantastic home run show. Here, at Jefebet, we will provide you with the greatest details and predictions about the home run festival that precedes the MLB All-Star Game.
Predictions and picks for the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby
The Bracket Has Been Defined
Before starting the analysis, let’s remember that the Home Run Derby matchups are based on the number of home runs that each of the participants register during the season, with Schwarber being the number one for this competition as he has the most with 28.
In this case, the Phillies’ slugger will face Pujols in the first round, who has the fewest home runs and is ranked eighth. Alonso will begin defending his crown against Acuña Jr., who was seeded seventh.
The winner of each bracket advances to the second round or semifinal to face the other group winner, and the two winners go head-to-head in the final.
Each player will have 3 minutes to hit as many home runs as possible in the 1st and 2nd rounds, while the final will be 2 minutes long, with the option of requesting a 45-second pause and stoppíng the clock at any time.
In the event of a tie between the two, each player will play a swing-off round of 60 seconds without interruptions or time-outs.
Kyle Schwarber (+350)
In his second appearance in a Home Run Derby, Kyle Schwarber is positioned as one of the biggest threats to take the title away from Alonso, as he is a betting favorite and will surely want to avenge the 2018 final loss to Bryce Harper.
Although he has only three home runs in 16 games at Dodger Stadium, the Phillies’ slugger comes into the event with five more home runs than the Mets’ first baseman, and his win looks much more attainable than that of the reigning champion.
Pete Alonso (+400)
Pete Alonso, winner of the last two editions of the Home Run Derby, was one of the first to confirm his participation with the intention of tallying Ken Griffey Jr. as the top winner of the competition with three victories.
Despite being second in the betting, Alonso is certainly the favorite to become the first batter in the event’s history to win three consecutive editions, and he has in his advantage the fact that Dodger Venue is a stadium where many home runs are given. Additionally, this is the third park where he has struck out the most times (7) in his career, not counting Citi Field.
Corey Seager (+650)
The Texas Rangers’ shortstop was the latest to join the home run fest after being called up to the All-Star Game on Thursday, replacing George Springer, and will face rookie Rodriguez in the first round.
This will be Corey Seager’s second appearance in the event, following his 2016 appearance when he was eliminated in the first round to Mark Trumbo, 15-16. In his first experience with Texas, he has already hit 21 home runs and will return to the stadium where he played for seven seasons with the Dodgers and hit 59 homers.
Juan Soto (+550)
Dominican Juan Soto is going to his second consecutive Home Run Derby after being eliminated last season in the second round by Pete Alonso, 16-15.
Soto has been gradually improving his numbers this season, and as of Wednesday he had 19 round-trippers, the seventh-best total in the NL. The outfielder already knows what it is like to be in this event, and batting at Dodger Stadium could be a good incentive to overcome his compatriot Ramirez in the first round.
José Ramírez (+550)
This will be Jose Ramirez first appearance in the Home Run Derby after 10 seasons in the Major Leagues. The Dominican has hit at least 23 home runs in each of his last four seasons (not counting the short 2020 season) and this year he already has 17.
With no experience in the event, we do not know what to expect from the performance of the Dominican, who has become one of the most feared hitters in the league in recent years: this is reflected in the betting odds that place him tied for third place with Soto.
Julio Rodriguez (+650)
Julio Rodriguez is one of the rookie sensations in the Major Leagues this season and his first appearance in the Home Run Derby is already creating a lot of expectation.
With 15 home runs in 2022, the Dominican outfielder for the Seattle Mariners leads the circuit’s rookies, and even if Las Vegas doesn’t give him many chances, the American Rookie of the Year candidate will undoubtedly put on a great performance.
Ronald Acuña Jr. (+650)
Ronald Acuña Jr. is a Major League star because he possesses all five of the tools required to play baseball, including batting power.
The Atlanta Braves outfielder is going to his second participation after being in the 2019 edition, a season in which he dispatched 41 home runs with his team. The Venezuelan will need to be at his best if he is to win the title, since he will face the powerful Alonso in the first round.
Albert Pujols (+1400)
Watch out! Nobody is betting for Albert Pujolsin this Home Run Derby, but in his final season as an active player, one of the greatest home run hitters of all time could make more than one of his competitors sweat.
Invited to the All-Star Game as a Legacy Selection by the Commissioner, the Dominican knows this stadium very well after playing 85 games with the Dodgers last season. Additionally, this year, he has six home runs with the Cardinals. Also, I don’t think it should be forgotten that this man knows how to hit home runs, as he has 685 throughout his career.
JefeBet Prediction
Year after year the Home Run Derby surprises us with performances by players who were not on paper. However, the final for this season appears to be between Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber, two of the best hitters in the National League.
As we already commented, Alonso has the incentive of his third crown in a row, while Schwarber is a home run specialist who came close to winning the festival in 2018. Both will undoubtedly have a good day at a friendly Dodger Stadium.
Any surprises? Keep an eye on Juan Soto, who already has experience in these matters, as well as on Corey Seager, who knows very well how to hit in the Californian stadium.
Pick: Pete Alonso.
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