2025 Home Run Derby odds: It's a wide-open slugfest in Atlanta

USA Today

a day ago

It's a new era for MLB's Home Run Derby in 2025.
As baseball's most iconic exhibition prepares to take over Truist Park in Atlanta next week, the field will not feature any players who participated last year. Instead, emerging stars like James Wood, Oneil Cruz, Junior Caminero and Brent Rooker will try to prove their worth against the likes of Cal Raleigh, Byron Buxton, Jazz Chisholm and Ronald Acuna Jr.
And it sure seems like oddsmakers don't really have a clear favorite yet.
At BetMGM on Friday, Cruz held a marginal lead for the best odds at +340. Raleigh was right behind him at +375, followed by Acuna at +425. But the public appears enamored with Wood. The Washigton Nationals star who is +550 to win has attracted the most bets (18 percent) and the largest handle (34.4 percent) making him the sportsbook's biggest liability.
While Raleigh leads MLB with 36 homers as of Friday, it's worth remembering Acuna (11 homers) didn't make his season debut until late May following last year's knee injury and will have the benefit of his home park and crowd.
It's far too early to let the odds sway bettors one way or the other. This field is wide open. Especially given the Derby's format.
2025 Home Run Derby Format
Per MLB:
There are three rounds to the eight-player Derby: first round, semifinals and finals.
In the first round, the eight players each have three minutes or 40 pitches (whichever comes first) to hit as many homers as possible. There is also a bonus period for each player that lasts until they record three outs (any swing that doesn't result in a home run) within the period. If a player hits a home run of at least 425 feet within the bonus period, the period is extended until the player records a fourth out.
The players with the top four homer totals advance to the semis. In the event of a first-round tie, the player who hit the longest home run during the round advances.
In the semifinals, the format shifts to "knockout style," with No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3. The seeds are determined solely by the number of home runs each player hit in the first round. Players will have two minutes or 27 pitches in the semifinals and finals, and home run totals from the first round don't carry over.
Ties in the semifinals or finals are broken by a 60-second "swing-off" with no additional time added. If a tie remains after the "swing-off," batters then engage in successive three-swing 'swing-offs' until there is a winner.
The winners of the two semifinal matchups advance to the finals, where the limits are reduced to two minutes and 27 pitches. The player with the most home runs after that period is crowned Home Run Derby champion.
One final note: Each batter is entitled to one 45-second timeout in each of the three regulation periods, but timeouts can't be called during the bonus periods or tiebreakers.
The format worked wonders in 2024 as Teoscar Hernandez out-dueled Bobby Witt Jr. in the final round. Notably, Bryce Harper in 2018 was the last player to win a Home Run Derby in his home stadium. We'll see if Acuna can end that streak.