MLB Home Derby 2019: Betting Odds, Prediction, Participants For Baseball's All-Star Competition

The 2019 MLB All-Star break begins Monday night with the Home Run Derby. Eight of the top power hitters in baseball will compete at Cleveland’s Progressive Field.

The Home Run Derby starts at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN. The betting odds indicate that the field is wide open with some of the sport’s best young stars set to go head to head.

Josh Bell of the Pittsburgh Pirates is the favorite at +300, though the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn’t far behind with +325 odds. New York Mets’ rookie Pete Alonso is third at +400. Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Joc Pederson has +600 odds.

Cleveland Indians’ first baseman Carlos Santana is the biggest long shot. Santana (+1100) and Houston Astros’ third baseman Alex Bregman (+1000) are the only participants that have 10/1 odds or worse.

The MLB home run leader won’t be in the competition. Reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich had to pull out of the Home Run Derby because of a sore back. He’s been replaced by Oakland Athletics’ third baseman Matt Chapman.

Yelich is first in baseball with 31 home runs. Dodgers’ outfielder Cody Bellinger is second with 30 home runs, and he won’t compete either. Alonso leads the field with 30 homers in the first half of the year.

Bell has 27 home runs, including five homers in just seven games this month. Ronald Acuna Jr. has 21 home runs for the Atlanta Braves. Acuna has the worst odds of any NL participant.

The top three home run leaders in the AL (Mike Trout, Edwin Encarnacion, Gary Sanchez) aren’t in the tournament. Bregman is tied for fourth in the AL with 23 homers.

Guerrero only has eight home runs, though he didn’t make his debut until a month into the season. He hit his first home run on May 14.

Prediction: Pete Alonso