Miami Marlins right fielder and defending champion Giancarlo Stanton holds the best 2017 Home Run Derby odds at 3-2, per SportsBook. He’s followed by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge who has 2-1 odds, and Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger with 8-1 odds.
Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano has 10-1 odds, while Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon, Marlins first baseman Justin Bour, Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas and Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez all tied with 15-1 odds.
As the No. 3 seed in the Derby, Bellinger has 20-33 odds to defeat No. 6 seed Blackmon in their first-round matchup. Blackmon holds 27-20 odds to advance past Bellinger.
Bellinger or Blackmon will face the winner of the Judge-Bour matchup. As the No. 2 seed in the tournament, Judge is a heavy favorite to eliminate Bour. Needless to say, the general public presumably would welcome Bellinger and Judge going head-to-head.
Bellinger heads into the Derby with 25 home runs hit on the season. Bellinger’s opposite-field blast on Saturday tied the game in the eighth inning and was his first home run since hitting two against the Rockies on June 25.
Blackmon hit two home runs in the past three games, including one on Sunday, and has 20 home runs this season. Judge leads all participants with 30 home runs.
Each batter will receive four minutes per round in the single-elimination tournament. The time begins with the release of a pitch, and a new pitch can’t be thrown until a batted ball hits the ground, gets caught or leaves the field of play.
Batters can earn 30 seconds of bonus time for two home runs each that travel at least 440 feet. Bonus time will be awarded at the end of the initial four-minute period.
Each batter has one 45-second timeout in the first round and semifinals. Batters are entitled to two timeouts in the final round — a 45-second timeout, then a 30-second timeout.
Ties will be broken with a swing-off that lasts 60 seconds and does not include stoppage time or the possibility of additional time added. Should a tie remain, batters will take part in successive three-swing swing-offs.
The 2017 Home Run Derby is set for Tuesday, July 12, at Marlins Park. ESPN will exclusively televise the event, beginning at 5 p.m. PT. It will also be available on ESPN2 for a Spanish-language simulcast and to be streamed via the ESPN app.
The complete 2017 Home Run Derby bracket can be viewed here.
