With Cal Raleigh threatening a Barry Bonds record and Aaron Judge making dinger history, the 2025 MLB season has already basically been a Home Run Derby, just unofficially. On Monday night we’ll get the real thing, when eight players face off in the annual All-Star Game event at the home of the Braves, Truist Park.
Will Big Dumper continue to dominate? Will Oneil Cruz leverage that 6-foot-7 frame into more homers than anyone? Will Braves’ slugger Matt Olson give the hometown fans something to cheer about? Let’s dive in and see who’s in the 2025 Home Run Derby, their chances of winning are and some predictions.
Participants
Cal Raleigh, Mariners (38 HRs)
Raleigh is leading the majors in home runs, and also hit the second-most of anyone in MLB history before the All-Star break — just one behind Barry Bonds’ 39 in 2001, which still left Raleigh with the AL record. Whether that will translate into Derby dingers remains to be seen, but there’s no doubting his power. This is the third season in a row that the Mariners’ catcher has hit at least 30 home runs, and in just four full seasons in the majors, he’s gone yard 131 times.
DraftKings odds: +295 (bet $10 to win $39.50 total)
Oneil Cruz, Pirates (16 HRs)
While Cruz’s career-high in home runs is 21, he’s already gone yard 16 times in 2025. Plus, if you’ve ever looked at him before, then you’ve got a pretty good idea about how much power is locked away in him: Cruz stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 240 pounds. Not only that, but when he crushes a ball, he crushes it: he set a record for exit velocity on a home run in 2022, which stood until 2025… when Cruz himself broke it with the hardest hit ball you’ve ever seen. Letting a guy like that into Derby is a potential treat for us all.
DraftKings odds: +330 (bet $10 to win $43 total)
James Wood, Nationals (24 HRs)
The Nationals’ young phenom has played in just over a season’s worth of games in the majors. In those 174 contests, he’s gone deep 33 times, and is on pace for 40 homers this year alone. The 22-year-old hasn’t been around the game as long as his competitors, but he’s already got the bonafides to make you believe he can cause some real damage at the Derby.
DraftKings odds: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
Matt Olson, Braves (17 HRs)
Matt OIson is in his second Derby. Despite hitting 23 homers in the first round back in 2021, when Olson was still with the Athletics, he lost to Trey Mancini’s 24. And while he might not sound that exciting with just 17 home runs this year compared to Raleigh’s 38, Olson is still on pace for his fifth 30-homer season, and led the majors with 54 in 2023.
DraftKings odds: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20 HRs)
Brent Rooker is the first Athletics player in the Home Run Derby since Olson’s turn in 2021, and he’s got legitimate pop. Rooker has gone yard 20 times already in 2025, and hit 30 and 39 homers in the previous two seasons, despite playing his home games in the cavernous Coliseum in Oakland before the A’s moved to their temporary home in Sacramento.
DraftKings odds: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Byron Buxton, Twins (21 HRs)
Byron Buxton has had a serious resurgence in his power in 2025: his career-high in homers is 28, and he’s at 21 already this summer. Health has long been the issue for the Twins’ outfielder, but he’s played in 78 games in ‘25, and is showing off what he can do when he’s on the field. That could translate into far more homers than you’d think just given the raw numbers from his career.
DraftKings odds: +950 (bet $10 to win $15 total)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees (17 HRs)
People think Aaron Judge when Yankees with power come up, but Jazz Chisholm is no slouch. He has been New York’s second-best hitter so far in 2025, and has hit 17 long balls in just 65 games. His first full season with the Yankees has been a memorable one so far, and mashing his way through the Home Run Derby would only add to that.
DraftKings odds: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Junior Caminero, Rays (23 HRs)
If Junior Caminero has any real faults in his game, they’re due to being just 21 years old and in his first full season in the majors. Even with that context, though, the Rays’ slugger has already hit 23 homers in 2025 and 30 in 141 career MLB games, and unlike with pitchers in the regular season, no one at the Derby is going to try to find any holes in his swing.
DraftKings odds: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Predictions
Most Total Home Runs: Oneil Cruz is going to look like he’s taking batting practice out there, even more than is usual for the Derby.
Most Home Runs in a Round: Jazz Chisholm Jr. is going to absolutely lock in at some point, and it’s going to be the round of the evening.
Home Run Derby Winner: Cal Raleigh is going to bat left-handed – his best side – in a park that favors lefties. This is his Derby to lose.
Darkhorse candidate: Junior Caminero has tremendous power tucked away in Tampa Bay, and is going to surprise a lot of people at the 2025 Derby.
The 2025 Home Run Derby begins at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, July 14th.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
recommended
Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
