Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant will compete in the Home Run Derby on Monday night at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant will compete in the Home Run Derby on Monday night at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
The Cubs sluggers took some early batting practice on Friday to prepare for the event.
“It’s very different when you don’t have the batting cage behind you,” Bryant said. “I was fortunate enough to do one last year at the Double-A All-Star Game, so it didn’t feel too weird to me.”
The Rangers’ Prince Fielder is considered the favorite by one Las Vegas gambling website, with Bryant tied for second with the Reds’ Todd Frazier in the eight-man field and Rizzo tied for sixth.
Bryant declined to handicap the field.
“It’s up for grabs,” he said. “Whoever is the best batting practice hitter, I guess, will win.”
Cubs starter Jake Arrieta said he thought Rizzo would have a “slight advantage” because of the short porch in right field.
“The ball flies pretty well, and he’s talking about going to the opposite field for a few,” Arrieta said. “And he’s one who’s capable of doing that. But you can’t ever count Kris out because of how much power he’s got. So we’ll see how good his dad is at throwing B.P.”
The new format is complicated, but basically there are four quarterfinal matches, two semifinals and a championship match. The bracket is seeded based on home runs through July 7.
Each hitter gets five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible, with an additional 1 1/2 minutes of bonus time possible — one minute if you hit two balls over 420 feet, and another 30 seconds if you hit one 475 feet. The clock will stop in the final minute after every home run and not start again until there is an “out” (a ball that goes foul or doesn’t clear the fence).
The player with most home runs advances. Each batter gets one 45-second timeout per round, and ties will be decided by a 90-second “swing-off.”
Here are the brackets, and our predictions:
Quarterfinals
Albert Pujols vs. Kris Bryant: In a battle of rookie vs. old-timer, the rookie gets the nod based on energy level and having his father, Mike, pitching. Winner: Bryant.
Joc Pederson vs. Manny Machado: The Dodgers rookie is a prohibitive favorite over Machado, who is more of a doubles hitter. Winner: Pederson
Josh Donaldson vs. Anthony Rizzo: Pull-hitting Rizzo has only a 325-foot shot down right-field line in Cincinnati. Donaldson sat Sunday with flu symptoms. Winner: Rizzo.
Prince Fielder vs. Todd Frazier: Prince won the derby in 2009 and ‘12, but his power has diminished while Frazier has home-field advantage. Winner: Frazier.
Semifinals
Bryant vs. Pederson: Battle of Rookie of the Year candidates favors Pederson, who has 20 homers to Bryant’s 12. Look for an upset. Winner: Bryant
Rizzo vs. Frazier: The home-field crowd will be behind Frazier, and Rizzo could be toast after battling Donaldson. Winner: Frazier.
Championship
Bryant over Frazier: Bryant’s swing is tailor made for home run hitting, and his dad has probably been planning for this day since Little League. Winner: Bryant.