Home Run Derby field announced: Pujols vs. Bryant in opening round
The field has been set for the 2015 Home Run Derby, and it looks to be awesome.
The derby will look a little bit different this year, as the field consists of eight players who will square off in an 8-man bracket at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
There are two sides to the bracket. The left side looks like this: Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (No. 1 seed, 26 HRs) will off against Chicago Cubs rookie third baseman Kris Bryant (No. 8 seed, 12 HRs); Los Angeles Dodgers rookie center fielder Joc Pederson (No. 4 seed, 20 HRs) will meet Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (No. 5 seed, 19 HRs).
The right side goes as follows: Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson (No. 3 seed, 21 HRs) is matched up with Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (No. 6 seed, 16 HRs); Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier (No. 2 seed, 25 HRs) will meet Texas Rangers designated hitter Prince Fielder (No. 7 seed, 13 HRs).
The new bracket-style competition is not the only change you'll see this year. No longer will hitters accrue outs for non-home runs. Each hitter will have five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. The clock will stop when a home run ball lands and resume after the next non-home run.
A bonus minute can be earned if a player were to hit two home runs of 420-plus feet, and a bonus of 30 seconds for home runs that go 475-plus feet. Bonus time is maxed out at 90 seconds.
The four winners in the first round will meet in the semis, and the two winners will move on to the final.
WATCH: Mike Trout on Home Run Derby: "I'm eventually going to do it, but you never know." http://t.co/0KB0IMvylb #MLB pic.twitter.com/0qFiY3Zn1t
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) July 8, 2015
While the new format might seem a touch confusing, the derby's most notable home run hitter is a fan of the changes.
"If anything, it'll be better because you don't have to sit around so much like you did in the past,'' Pujols said. "If I hit in the first round, we had to wait until everybody hit and sometimes you sat an hour and a half, two hours.''
Pujols has 20 career home runs at Great American Ballpark, a number only bested in five other stadiums across baseball.
The derby favorite is the man who has 69 career home runs at the Reds' home park -- Frazier.
The Gillette Home Run Derby, presented by Head & Shoulders, is July 13.
