Plus, Super Bowl odds shifting and news you missed over the weekend.
Good morning! Are you ready to see some home runs?
Tonight is the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby and to make watching baseball’s best batters launching balls hundreds of feet with ease even more fun, we have a betting preview to help you get some skin in the game on tonight’s event.
Beyond that, check in with the latest Super Bowl futures odds, see how the British Open played out, learn the latest in the Kevin Durant trade request saga and more.
How to Bet on the Home Run Derby
The Mets’ Pete Alonso is going for the three-peat tonight at Dodgers Stadium in the Home Run Derby, but he faces stiff competition with Kyle Schwarber, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto all looking to unseat him.
Below are the odds for the competition, which begins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN:
Pete Alonso +215
Kyle Schwarber +320
Ronald Acuña, Jr. +600
Juan Soto +600
Corey Seager +850
Julio Rodriguez +1000
Jose Ramirez +1500
Albert Pujols +1600
David J. Phillip/AP
Jen Piacenti broke down the field and offered her pick to win it all. Here are some of her notes on the top competitors:
“Alonso has dominated this event for the past two years and is only the third player to win back-to-back HR derbies. Alonso has the highest max exit velocity of the players competing (116.5).”
“Not only does Schwarber lead the field in average exit velocity (93), barrel rate (21.7%) and max home run distance (468), his first-round matchup is with Albert Pujols. He could take it easy in the first round and still win it all.”
“Soto hit 46 homers last year before being eliminated by Alonso, and one of those homers was 520 feet–the longest recorded in the Statcast era. Soto got his groove back after the Derby last year, hitting 18 homers and batting .348 after the break.”
Super Bowl Futures Odds Shift
The middle of the offseason is the perfect time to look ahead to the seemingly distant futures markets, like the odds for Super Bowl LVII in Arizona.
Oddly enough, the last two teams to win the big game hosted it at their own stadium (Buccaneers, 2021; Rams, 2022), a rarity that hadn’t happened before in league history. That trend might come to an end this season for the Cardinals, whose odds are losing steam as the season approaches.
Frankie Taddeo checked in with the teams whose odds have taken the biggest leaps and hits over an offseason that’s been jam-packed with league-altering transactions.
Opening: +2400
Curent: +750
“The Buccaneers are tied with Buffalo and Green Bay with the highest season win totals of 11.5. Todd Bowles’s squad is the biggest favorite to win any of the eight NFL divisions, currently installed as -325 favorites to win the NFC South.”
Opening: 2700
Current: +1400
“The Bolts have a regular-season win total sitting at 10.5, juiced to the over at odds of -143, and are expected to get off to a hot start as they are favored in six of their first seven games.”
Orlando Ramirez/USA Today Sports
Opening: +1200
Current: +2000
“Opposing teams will get up on a weekly basis to play the Bengals and with the Ravens expected to get healthier at numerous positions, oddsmakers now have Baltimore (+160) favored over Cincinnati (+200) to win the AFC North.”
Opening: +2000
Current: +2800
“Perhaps the biggest reason for the adjustment of their odds is due to the six-game suspension of all-pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (performance-enhancing). Kyler Murray will be forced to depend on former Ravens wideout Marquise Brown until Hopkins returns for a Week 7 showdown with New Orleans.”
John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated
See how the odds for the other 28 NFL teams have changed in the offseason to find value in the market.
In Other News
Cameron Smith Wins British Open: Smith (+2500) won the 150th British Open and beat favorite Rory McIlroy (+1000) behind a stellar outing on Sunday. It was the first major title of Smith’s career.
Suns Reportedly Unlikely to Acquire Durant: Phoenix was previously considered one of the top landing spots for Kevin Durant after his trade request, but after the Suns retained Deandre Ayton, who can’t be traded until Jan. 15, the team no longer has the assets to make a competitive offer.
Soto Says No to Nats Offer, Open for Trade: Washington’s All-Star outfielder rejected a 15-year, $440-million deal that would have made him the highest paid player in league history. The team now intends to listen to trade offers for Juan Soto, who is under contract through the end of the 2024 season.
Chiefs’ OT Brown to Play Under Franchise Tag: The two sides were unable to agree on a long term deal before Friday’s deadline and Orlando Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler, is now expected to sit out training camp and potentially longer.
Orioles Take Jackson Holiday No. 1 in MLB Draft: Baltimore landed a high school shortstop and the son of all-star Matt Holiday with the first pick Sunday night. Holiday was MLB.com’s No. 2-rated prospect and joins a growing list of second generation players in the league.
Thanks for reading Winners Club! Remember to submit your fantasy football mailbag questions to Michael Fabiano for a chance to get it answered in the Friday edition of the newsletter.