Caleb Wilfinger
We’ve officially reached the All-Star break in the Major League Baseball season. It’s been nearly 4 months since Opening Day and there has been plenty of excitement thus far. But now, it’s time for the All-Star festivities to begin. The first event of the week is the Home Run Derby which features eight of the best sluggers in baseball meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Let’s preview the Home Run Derby field before getting into my best bets for the event.
2025 MLB Home Run Derby participants
- Byron Buxton
- Brent Rooker
- Cal Raleigh
- Jazz Chisholm Jr.
- James Wood
- Junior Caminero
- Matt Olson
- Oneil Cruz
2025 MLB Home Run Derby Best Bet: Byron Buxton (+950)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
While most of the eyes from the betting public are going to be focused on the likes of Cal Raleigh or Oneil Cruz, I’ve traveled a bit down the board to focus on a dynamic player that has the power, bat speed and endurance to make it through the multiples rounds needed to win this competition. Buxton has long been touted as one of the most electric players in the game and he’s putting up the results to back that up this season, posting 21 home runs through the first half of the campaign. Buxton sits at 2nd in the field in slugging percentage on this season (.574), and he also has some of the quickest bat to ball data in the game. All things considered, Buxton is too good to pass up on at nearly 10-1 odds.
2025 Home Run Derby Secondary Best Bet: Matt Olson (+950)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
For my second wager in this market, I’m going to take a stab on a crowd favorite and back Matt Olson to win the Derby in his home stadium. The Braves first baseman hasn’t quite lived up to being Freddie Freeman’s successor in Atlanta, but he’s still a rock solid hitter and should be in good position to finish in the top 4 and advance to the next round. Olson is also the only player in this field that has competed in a Home Run Derby previously, having participated back in 2021. This current format is one that is more favorable to Olson, and it’s important to remember that he’s playing in a stadium that he’s very familiar with, while racking up 134 home runs over his past 3.5 seasons in Atlanta. Ultimately, it’s worth taking a shot on Olson to take home the trophy at longer odds.
