The Major League Baseball season has reached the All-Star Break. With the Home Run Derby slated to tee off Monday, and the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, it’s a busy time for odds for baseball sports betting markets.
Coors Field in Denver is the host to the festivities, so the hope for MLB is likely for the baseball to fly off the bats.
Shohei Ohtani favored to win Home Run Derby
The eight-man field for the 2021 Home Run Derby begins the MLB All-Star Game betting festivities. The sluggers will compete at 8 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN.
Since 2015, the derby has moved to a bracket format, with one-on-one matchups determining who advances to the semifinals, and then the finals.
Oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook see Shohei Ohtani topping the field and win the Derby this year. He is listed at +250 odds to win. Joey Gallo is at +450, while Pete Alonso is at +500.
As of this weekend, BetMGM had 32.3% of the tickets and 35.1% of the handle going on Ohtani.
Juan Soto (+900) is drawing the next-most tickets (20.1%) and handle (15.7%). Ohtani, Soto and Trevor Story (+850) are the biggest liabilities for the market for BetMGM.
Ohtani is leading the MLB in home runs at the break with 33. He has five more than anyone in MLB and nine more than anyone in Monday’s field.
BetMGM is also offering bets on first-round matchups, finals matchups and the exact outcome of the final. You can also wager on the longest home run, with the market set at over/under 500.5 feet.
BetMGM is offering a promotion for the derby where if you bet $50 on a player to win their first-round matchup, you will win $1 in free bets per home run hit that round, regardless of whether they win or lose.
NL the slight favorite for MLB All-Star Game betting
Tuesday’s All-Star Game will be aired at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on FOX.
Oddsmakers are backing the National League in this one. FanDuel Sportsbook is listing the NL at -116 on the moneyline, while the American League is at -102. PointsBet Sportsbook has the NL at -112 and the AL at +104.
When it comes to the over/under, the total is listed at 10.5 runs by both sportsbooks.
The NL was dealt a slight blow this weekend, as starting outfield Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves suffered a torn ACL. Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres will replace him in the starting lineup.
One interesting game prop being offered by DraftKings Sportsbook is on whether a Home Run Derby participant will hit a home run in the All-Star Game. Yes is listed at +175, while No is at -220.
With this game being a big showcase for Ohtani, he is likely to get a few big swings at the plate.
Astros, Giants climbing up MLB futures markets
The All-Star Break is a great time to reassess the futures markets in Major League Baseball.
Two teams that have seen their odds improve the most over the first half of the season are the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants.
Houston opened up the season at +2500 to win the World Series, and now finds itself at +450, according to FanDuel. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers have better odds at +400.
At 55-36, Houston is tied for the best record in the AL with the Boston Red Sox. The Astros are leading the AL West by 3.5 games.
The Giants opened the season as a +11000 longshot to win the World Series. However, they have climbed all the way up to +1300 at the break.
San Francisco owns the top record in baseball right now at 57-32. Still, FanDuel has four NL teams ahead of the Giants in the World Series odds race.
One team that has been heading in the wrong direction is the New York Yankees. New York opened the season at +550 to win the World Series, but now sits at +2500.
The Yankees sit at just 46-43 on the season and are eight games out of the top spot in the AL East. New York is 4.5 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot.
Dodgers remain highest-wagered team
At the break, the Dodgers remain the team with the most wagers to win the championship.
According to BetMGM, L.A. is getting 12.3% of the World Series tickets and 16.7% of the handle.
The Padres are getting the second-most tickets at 9.9%, and third-most handle at 9.5%.
The New York Mets are getting the second-most handle at 10.8%.
When it comes to liabilities, the Angels are No. 1 for BetMGM. They opened at +4000 and now sit at +7000 while getting 3.7% of the handle.
The Giants are the second-highest liability. Despite their long odds to open the season, they are getting 3.1% of the handle for the World Series market.
The Detroit Tigers haven’t factored in much. Starting at +10000 to start the season, Detroit is now at +50000 after being swept in a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins. Detroit is getting just 1.1% of the handle.
