2014 Home Run Derby: Betting odds and a prediction

The 2014 Home Run Derby kicks off at 8:00 ET, with full coverage on ESPN. No Indians will be involved (so they held their own Home Run Derby earlier today), but it can still be fun, so I thought I'd put together an open thread for anyone who wants to watch and talk about it.

There are five players from each league this year, and players will only get 7 outs each round, instead of the standard 10 (probably to keep it from lasting four hours). The top player from each league will advance to the semifinals, while the 2nd and 3rd place guys will face off for the right to advance there (with the 4th and 5th place guys being eliminated).

Here are betting odds for the participants:

• Giancarlo Stanton: 2/1

• Yoenis Cespedes: 5/1

• Jose Bautista: 5/1

• Yasiel Puig: 6/1

• Troy Tulowitzki: 13/2

• Josh Donaldson: 10/1

• Adam Jones: 12/1

• Brian Dozier: 12/1

• Todd Frazier: 12/1

• Justin Morneau: 15/1

Bautista is my pick to win tonight, but looking at those figures, I'd also place a few bucks on Morneau, who''ll probably be the crowd favorite (despite not being on the Twins anymore), and is also a left-handed hitter, which I think probably plays a bit better, what with Target Field being short to right.

How about you, who do you like?

Another topic of conversation for this evening? Does anyone else remember the old Home Run Derby TV show, which originally aired in the early 1960s? It featured stars of that era, like Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, in one-on-one home run showdowns, held at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. Someone channel or another used to replay them when I was a kid, and I always enjoyed watching it.

Good luck to all of the players, and here's to hoping Michael Brantley storms the party and shows them how it's done!