Los Angeles Dodgers rookie center fielder Joc Pederson has dazzled with his glove and bat this season, and now will get to showcase his power again during All-Star week, as he, along with Todd Frazier of the host Cincinnati Reds and two-time champion Prince Fielder (2009, 2012) of the Texas Rangers, are among the eight participants in the 2015 Home Run Derby, Major League Baseball announced today.
The Home Run Derby will be held on Monday, July 13th, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, home of the Reds, and broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET).
The annual showcase also features Chicago Cubs rookie third baseman Kris Bryant; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, who was MLB’s leading vote-getter for the 2015 All-Star Game; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado; three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels; and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
This year’s Derby will introduce a new streamlined format featuring brackets and timed rounds. Brackets in the first round were seeded based on 2015 home run totals through Tuesday’s games. The first round matchups will include: No. 1 seed Pujols vs. No. 8 seed Bryant; No. 2 seed Frazier vs. No. 7 seed Fielder; No. 3 seed Donaldson vs. No. 6 seed Rizzo; and No. 4 seed Pederson vs. No. 5 seed Machado.
Fielder will be participating in his sixth career Derby and the fourth in the last five years (also 2007, 2009, 2011-13). He will join Ken Griffey Jr. (8), Mark McGwire (7), Barry Bonds (6) and Sammy Sosa (6) as the only players to participate at least six times.
Pujols, who reached the final round in 2003, will compete in the event for the fourth time in his career (also 2003, 2007, 2009).
Frazier, a finalist last year at Target Field in Minnesota, and Donaldson are taking part in the Derby for the second consecutive year. Pederson, Machado, Rizzo and Bryant will all take part in the Derby for the first time in their career.
Frazier will become the 18th player from a host team to partake in the Derby, and it marks the third consecutive year for the Derby to feature a hometown competitor, following David Wright at Citi Field in 2013 and Brian Dozier in Minnesota last year.
Rizzo and Bryant will become the first pair of Cubs teammates and the 15th pair of teammates overall to compete in the Derby in the same year. Pederson and Bryant will become just the fifth and sixth rookies to compete in the Derby, joining California’s Wally Joyner (1986), Oakland’s Jose Canseco (1986) and McGwire (1987), and Mike Piazza of the Dodgers (1993).
By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services
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