Baseball’s best and brightest have descended upon Denver, Colorado for the 91st annual Midsummer Classic. We have your complete look into the festivities, including free-of-cost betting picks for 2021 MLB All-Star week! That includes the actual game itself, plus the home run derby!
MLB 2021 Home Run Derby Betting Pick
As usual, eight players will step up to compete at the annual Home Run Derby. As it stands, here are the betting lines to win for each via online oddsmakers:
| Player |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Shohei Ohtani | 4.05 | 4.05 |
| Joey Gallo | 4.95 | 4.95 |
| Pete Alonso | 5.38 | 5.38 |
| Matt Olson | 6.44 | 6.44 |
| Trevor Story | 11.00 | 11.00 |
| Juan Soto | 7.86 | 7.86 |
| Salvador Perez | 8.12 | 8.12 |
| Trey Mancini | 13.00 | 13.00 |
MLB bettors are overwhelmingly flocking toward Ohtani, which makes all the sense in the world. You see, casual bettors love “narratives” and no player in all of MLB has a better story right now than Ohtani (Jacob deGrom is a close second). To put it simply, Ohtani is doing things we haven’t seen in the sport in ages.
He’s a two-way sensation that’s belted a 470-foot homer and also thrown a 101-mile-per-hour fastball. Do one of the two and you’re the talk of MLB, a little less both like the 27-year-old Ohtani has. His 33 home runs this season leads the league — five ahead of runner-up Vlad Guerrero Jr. As impressive as Ohtani is, none of that regular-season success really matters. We mean, this derby is practically a batting practice.
Rather than follow the betting crowd, we’re going to fade them outright. Two names that catch our eye are Gallo and Story, who happen to face each other in the first round. Whoever wins this matchup could run the table from there on out. Honestly, it’s not a bad idea to bet on both of them. At such steep odds, you’ll make out profitable if either one wins anyway.
However, if you could only bet on one, our pick would be Story. He’s spent his entire career with the Rockies and knows better than anyone in this field how to earn a long ball at Coors Field (without expending too much energy). Throw in the inevitable home team cheers and he’ll have all the momentum to win this thing from under Ohtani’s nose!
The NL vs. AL clash is almost at pick ’em, but some books are giving the NL the slightest of edges to win, probably because there will be no DH (the hosting Rockies are an NL team). For what it’s worth, the run total is set at 10.5.
However, it needs to be mentioned that the AL has won, count it, seven straight Midsummer classics. Seven! The NL hasn’t taken one of these matchups since Barrack Obama was still in the presidential office! But AL’s dominance over the NL stretches even further than that. They’ve won 25 of the last 32 meetings (winning percentage of 78).
As it usually comes down to in baseball, pitching will likely decide the outcome of this matchup. The NL’s hopes for winning were lessened when deGrom opted to sit out the contest. His eye-popping 1.08 ERA on the season would’ve been a difference-maker in the All-Star game, but you can’t blame him for choosing to rest up rather than toss innings in a meaningless game.
All in all, we like what the American League brings to the table in this one. Unlike the deGrom-less NL, they’ll likely have their pitching ace, Ohtani, on the mound (plus in the batting lineup too). Not only that, but given AL players don’t regularly play at Coors Field, they could be in for a mini-field day in the notoriously hitter-friendly ballpark. We’re following the betting trend and rolling with the AL to triumph.
MLB 2021 All-Star Game Betting Pick
The NL vs. AL clash is almost at pick ’em, but some books are giving the NL the slightest of edges to win, probably because there will be no DH (the hosting Rockies are an NL team). For what it’s worth, the run total is set at 10.5.
However, it needs to be mentioned that the AL has won, count it, seven straight Midsummer classics. Seven! The NL hasn’t taken one of these matchups since Barrack Obama was still in the presidential office! But AL’s dominance over the NL stretches even further than that. They’ve won 25 of the last 32 meetings (winning percentage of 78).
As it usually comes down to in baseball, pitching will likely decide the outcome of this matchup. The NL’s hopes for winning were lessened when deGrom opted to sit out the contest. His eye-popping 1.08 ERA on the season would’ve been a difference-maker in the All-Star game, but you can’t blame him for choosing to rest up rather than toss innings in a meaningless game.
All in all, we like what the American League brings to the table in this one. Unlike the deGrom-less NL, they’ll likely have their pitching ace, Ohtani, on the mound (plus in the batting lineup too). Not only that, but given AL players don’t regularly play at Coors Field, they could be in for a mini-field day in the notoriously hitter-friendly ballpark. We’re following the betting trend and rolling with the AL to triumph.
How To Watch MLB All-Star Festivities
Technically speaking, All-Star week began on Sunday with the celebrity softball game and the MLB Draft. However, neither of those present real betting opportunities.
Thankfully, the real betting fun begins on Monday, July 12. That’s when the Home Run Derby is, which is always a crowd-pleaser. The showcase begins at 8 pm EST. ESPN will be exclusively live airing the event. The actual NL vs. AL game is Tuesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm EST. Live coverage shifts to FOX for this one.
After Monday, MLB will be off until Thursday when the regular season gets back into full swing. That’s a two-day “dead period” on Tuesday and Wednesday when there are practically no sports to bet on. That’s enough reason to drop a wager on the ongoing All-Star festivities!
If you’re looking for more MLB All-Star odds, you can find them at one of the betting sites listed below. There is a slew of betting props available, particularly the Home Run Derby, and these sportsbooks have great prices on them across the board.
One final tip before we let you go: if you’re looking for free play, take advantage of one of the bonus offers currently available at the bookmakers. With these deals, you could earn hundreds to thousands of dollars in free money! Most bonuses are unlocked upon depositing money into your playing account, which takes a matter of minutes. To get started, click one of the links in the table below. Free play can be wagered right back on the All-Star game, too!
