MLB Home Run Derby Betting: Wagering on the MLB All-Star Break

Home Run Derby betting is a great way to add some excitement to the longest days of the year.

The MLB All-Star break is one of the slowest times on the sports betting calendar. Sports like hockey, football and basketball are dormant. The event is midweek, so there’s no boxing or UFC to handicap.

Without many lines to choose from, many bettors have spare time to focus on the MLB’s All-Star activities, betting on the Home Run Derby along with the week’s other events.

If you’ve never experienced Home Run Derby betting before, let’s take a closer look at how it works and how you should handicap the 2025 Home Run Derby, which takes place Monday, July 14, at Truist Park in Atlanta.

What is the MLB Home Run Derby Format?

Before betting on the Home Run Derby, you need to understand exactly how it works. Major League Baseball has tweaked the format in recent years, and the best strategies for Home Run Derby betting have changed accordingly.

After going with a single-elimination tournament, MLB changed its format in 2024, with all eight hitters competing in the opening round, with the top four advancing to seeded, semifinal knockout rounds.

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There are time and pitch limits on each of the rounds. In the opening round and semifinals, a hitter will get 3 minutes or 40 pitches, whichever comes first. In the finals, they’ll get 2 minutes, or 27 pitches.

Players can also earn bonus pitches if they hit home runs over 425 feet.

How to Bet On the MLB Home Run Derby

Betting on the MLB Home Run Derby is easy when you choose a great sportsbook. The betting sites in the table below will all offer wagers on the Home Run Derby, and you can’t go wrong with their top-notch selection of MLB odds and markets.

Sign up with one of these sportsbooks ahead of the big contest to start wagering on the MLB Home Run Derby.

Look for Momentum at the Plate Before the Home Run Derby

Winning hitters are typically hitting well prior to the Home Run Derby, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re smashing home runs.

Simply seeing the ball well in the weeks leading up to the Derby is a good sign, as the past two winners — Teoscar Hernandez in 2024 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2023 — weren’t hitting many homers leading up to the event. They were making good contact, though.

Hernandez had recorded a hit in 12 of 13 games leading into the 2024 Home Run Derby. Of the 16 hits he had in those games, only one left the yard.

In 2023, Guerrero Jr. wasn’t quite as hot, but he had at least one hit in five of eight games before the Derby, and three multi-hit games. Again, just one of his eight hits in that stretch was a home run.

So, when looking at how a hitter is faring heading into the All-Star break, don’t stop at the HR line.

Consider Live Betting the Home Run Derby

With the Derby format now including time and pitch limits, you’re going to see much less fatigue.

Gone are the days when a batter would hit for 10 minutes straight and rack of massive amounts of home runs in the early rounds, then peter out later.

This is a competition, but it’s also a fun event on what is otherwise a vacation for most players. This makes it hard to know who will show up ready to hit, or which pitcher they’ve chosen is hitting all the right spots.

The past couple years have also shown us that the hitters bombing the ball are likely to continue hitting home runs in the later rounds. Hernandez had an average home run distance of 429.6 feet in his win, while Guerrero Jr. was at 408. Guerrero Jr.’s average distance wasn’t tops on that night in 2023, but it was third, and his hit ball speed average was second.

Bet on Players with Home Run Derby Experience

We highly recommend focusing on players who have participated in the Home Run Derby before.

The derby is an unusual event, and both bettors and players are disadvantaged by its unfamiliar format. If a player has taken part before, that can provide the most solid preview of how they’ll perform in the future.

The Home Run Derby is nothing like an at-bat during a regular MLB game. Professional sluggers don’t often have softballs tossed their direction the way they do at the derby. Some players who are new to the event over-swing and end up fouling off balls or hitting line drives instead of home runs. Those with experience have a better idea of what to expect and how to perform.

Of course, Hernandez did win it this past year in his first appearance. But for now, that’s more of an outlier than a trend.

Beyond Betting the Home Run Derby

Now that you know how the Home Run Derby works and some strategy behind it, you’ll be in better position to win money when the event comes up this year.

But this quirky event is just one of many options when it comes to betting on baseball. Be sure to check out the rest of the baseball betting advice here at Sports Betting Dime to optimize your betting strategies and grow your bankroll this MLB season.