Morning Coffee: Ohtani, Judge obvious favourites to win All-Star Game MVP

Teoscar Hernandez is the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby champion.

Hernandez, who is the first player in Dodgers’ franchise history to win the competition, was +1200 to win the MLB Home Run Derby at FanDuel.

Only Jose Ramirez and Alec Bohm had longer odds.

While Hernandez defied the odds to prevail over Bobby Witt Jr. by a single homer to win the Home Run Derby, the biggest upset was the fact that the national anthem somehow overshadowed the actual competition.

My introduction to Ingrid Andress came via X last night when my timeline was flooded with reactions to her national anthem performance as I searched in vain for updates on the actual event.

Who said there’s no strikeouts at the Home Run Derby?

Next up, the best baseball players on the planet will compete in tonight’s MLB All-Star Game.

While NL Rookie of the Year favourite Paul Skenes will command the spotlight as the starting pitcher for the National League, the American League is currently a slight favourite at FanDuel at -118 odds.

Per the FanDuel traders, 57 per cent of the stakes are on the AL team to win the MLB All-Star Game.

Skenes is the most popular pick to win MLB All-Star Game MVP.

For whose wondering, multi-platinum selling artist Cody Johnson will perform the anthem ahead of the game.

This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

Ohtani, Judge the obvious favourites to win All-Star Game MVP

The American League won nine straight All-Star Games from 2013 through 2022. The National League finally snapped its losing streak with a 3-2 win in Seattle last year.

Despite the hype surrounding Skenes as the fifth rookie all-time to start the All-Star Game, the AL is a slight favourite once again for tonight’s contest at FanDuel.

The last rookie to start the All-Star Game was Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 1995.

Nomo went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year and finished fourth in NL Cy Young award voting that season.

Skenes is the overwhelming favourite to win NL Rookie of the Year and a top-three choice to win the NL Cy Young at FanDuel this morning.

Our guy Luke Bellus will have a complete breakdown of how Skenes’ odds to win both awards have dramatically changed over the course of the first half of the season later today.

Meanwhile, Baltimore Orioles ace Corbin Burnes will get the start for the AL team.

Only Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers has shorter odds than Burnes to win the AL Cy Young award at FanDuel.

New York Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will lead the American League team as two of the top three choices to win AL MVP at FanDuel.

Judge is the heavy favourite to win the award at -370.

Soto is a distant third choice to win AL MVP at +1800. Baltimore Orioles’ slugger Gunnar Henderson is sandwiched in between them at +310 to win AL MVP.

Meanwhile, it’s a pair of Dodgers who are set to lead the NL team in Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

As is the case with Judge in the AL MVP market, Ohtani is a heavy favourite to win NL MVP at FanDuel at -380.

Freeman is a distant third choice to win NL MVP at +2500. Philadelphia Phillies’ slugger Bryce Harper is +410 as the second choice to win NL MVP at FanDuel this morning.

In addition to the game outcome and a long list of props, FanDuel has a market for the MLB All-Star Game MVP winner.

No surprise, Ohtani and Judge are the top two choices at +800 and +950, respectively.

Harper (+1100), Henderson (+1200), and Soto (+1400) round out the top-five choices to win the MLB All-Star Game MVP award.

Per the FanDuel traders, Ohtani is the most popular pick to win the MLB All-Star Game MVP with 16 per cent of the handle in that market.

Skenes is the most popular pick by bet count with 12 per cent of all bets and 15 per cent of the handle.

I’ll lock in a bet on the No Run First Inning at -138. The NRFI has hit in four of the previous five MLB All-Star Games.

Skenes and Burnes have combined for a 20-8 NRFI record this season.

I’ll lock in the MLB All-Star Game NRFI as an annual tradition.

Have a great day, everyone!