Juan Soto is your 2022 MLB Home Run Derby champ! Takeaways and our favorite

Juan Soto is your 2022 Home Run Derby champion after dueling it out with rookie Julio Rodriguez in a battle of the young bats Monday evening at Dodger Stadium.

At 23 years and 266 days, Soto becomes the second youngest player ever to win the Derby. He is the second Washington Nationals player to win the event (Bryce Harper won in 2018) and first Dominican-born champion since Robinson Cano (2011).

Washington’s star outfielder might have taken the crown on Monday night, but the Derby was full of surprises — from Rodriguez usurping back-to-back reigning champion Pete Alonso in the second round to Albert Pujols upsetting Kyle Schwarber in the first round. To celebrate the midsummer festivities, we asked ESPN MLB experts Alden Gonzalez, Buster Olney, Jeff Passan and David Schoenfield for their pre-Derby predictions and post-Derby takeaways.

Check out how accurate our experts were in their predictions, relive the biggest dramatic moments of the Derby, and see what it all means going forward.

MLB All-Star Home Run Derby bracket

(1) Kyle Schwarber vs. (8) Albert Pujols

(4) Juan Soto vs. (5) Jose Ramirez

(6) Julio Rodriguez vs. (3) Corey Seager

(7) Ronald Acuna Jr. vs. (2) Pete Alonso

Round 1

Julio Rodriguez (32 home runs) defeats Corey Seager (24 home runs)

Pete Alonso (20 home runs) defeats Ronald Acuna Jr. (19 home runs)

Juan Soto (18 home runs) defeats Jose Ramirez (17 home runs)

Albert Pujols (20 home runs) defeats Kyle Schwarber (19 home runs) in extra time

Round 2

Julio Rodriguez (31 home runs) defeats Pete Alonso (22 home runs)

Juan Soto (16 home runs) defeats Albert Pujols (15 home runs)

Finals

Juan Soto (19 home runs) defeats Julio Rodriguez (18 home runs)

Takeaways from the 2022 Home Run Derby

Gonzalez: Heading into his 30-second bonus time in the opening round, while stuck on 10 home runs and seemingly lagging, Pujols stepped out of the batter’s box to take a breath. A crowd quickly swelled around him. Most of the players on the field at Dodger Stadium encircled the future Hall of Fame first baseman and began to applaud. Soto, who would later defeat Pujols in Round 2, fanned him off with his cap. Pujols’ oldest son, A.J., watched from nearby in tears. It was an organic moment of appreciation as Pujols winds down his final season in baseball. Many of those who formed that semicircle are fellow Dominican players who grew up worshipping him. Through the years, all of them got advice from Pujols as they matriculated to stardom.

Schoenfield: As a longtime Mariners fan, this felt like the official arrival of Rodriguez on the national stage, even if Soto beat him out in the end. Rodriguez’s first round of 32 home runs was spectacular, and when he raised his arms in triumph, it wasn’t just a moment for him or even Mariners fans. It was a moment for all baseball fans: The game’s next great star is here.

You have to remember, the Mariners haven’t had a homegrown star since Felix Hernandez — and Hernandez was a pitcher, which means must-watch TV only once every five or six days. With Rodriguez, Mariners fans get to see something every game: his power, his speed, his defense. He is full of the youthful energy you would expect from a 21-year-old, but he also seems to…