MLB Home Run Derby 2022: Juan Soto tops Julio Rodriguez at Dodger Stadium

MLB All-Star Week continued Monday with the 2022 Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium, where Juan Soto defeated Julio Rodríguez in the finals and walked away with $1 million of the $2.5 million prize pool.

Soto outlasted his opponent when it mattered most, securing a 19-18 win in the last round, despite Rodríguez's holding an 81-53 edge overall in the event.

The competition was the latest event in a jam-packed schedule leading up to Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). The festivities kicked off this weekend, as baseball's best prospects dazzled in Saturday's MLB All-Star Futures Game, followed by the 2022 MLB Draft beginning Sunday.

The seeding for the opening round was based on the number of homers each player has hit this season, as of July 13. The bracket was: No. 1 Kyle Schwarber vs. No. 8 Albert Pujols, No. 2 Pete Alonso vs. No. 7 Ronald Acuña Jr., No. 3 Corey Seager vs. No. 6 Julio Rodríguez and No. 4 Juan Soto vs. No. 5 Jose Ramírez.

Here were the top moments!

Finals

Soto is the 2022 Home Run Derby champion! 

The Nationals' superstar delivered the clinching blast in bonus time and launched his bat into the stratosphere, adding another accolade to his young career.

The rookie has arrived. Making the league minimum of $700,000, Rodriguez earned more money as the Derby runner-up ($750,000) than he's getting this entire season. He led off the finals with 18 homers.

The matchup between Soto and Rodríguez is somewhat familiar. They just met in person but have doing battle for quite some time. 

The bat has been passed to two of the game's youngest stars.

Round two

In the semifinals were No. 8 Albert Pujols, No. 2 Pete Alonso, No. 6 Julio Rodríguez and No. 4 Juan Soto.

The baseball gods teased a dream matchup between the oldest and youngest participants, but Soto logged a 16-15 win over Pujols to move on to the finals.

Pujols advanced out of the first round in all five of his Derby appearances, and the 20 he hit to start his night were the most in any round in his career. Not bad for a 42-year-old.

After launching 32 in the first round, Rodríguez was matched up with Derby favorite Alonso. He led off the second round with 31 and left no room for Alonso to win his third consecutive title. 

Round one

We have a tie! Schwarber, with a minute of bonus time, tied Pujols with 13 home runs. Each player was awarded a minute to add to his total.

Pujols added seven to bring his total to 20 and survived the first round by one home run!

After hitting only one home run through his first several swings, Pujols switched to a lighter bat and was able to reach 10 in his first three minutes. Players then swarmed him at home plate before his bonus 30 seconds produced two more home runs.

Ramírez struggled to find a groove and hit only 17 in his 3.5 minutes. His opponent, Soto, didn't even need his bonus time, as he walked off with 18 as his three-minute round expired.

In an NL East showdown, Alonso had to beat Acuña's 19 home runs. He hit 17 in the first three minutes and then walked off the round with 28 seconds to spare. 

Acuña set the tone for his first round by belting his 14th homer out of Dodger Stadium entirely.

Rodríguez opened the night with 25 home runs in his first three-minute round, then blasted seven more in the one-minute bonus for a first-round total of 32.

Seager, who has the most experience hitting at Dodger Stadium, answered back with 24 of his own. 

Ahead of the action, FOX Sports MLB Analysts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman gave baseball fans a tour of Chavez Ravine and broke down the best places to catch a home run at Dodger Stadium.