MLB All Star Game: breaking down the Home Run Derby field

Jul 15, 2013; Flushing , NY, USA; American League player Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics hits the winning home run in the final round of the Home Run Derby in advance of the 2013 All Star Game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

An entirely new format has been setup for this year’s Home Run Derby unlike what we’ve seen from the event in years past. The new bracket-style challenge could make things interesting for the field of ten players involved and should present some interesting watching tonight from Minnesota’s Target Field.

Under the new rules, each player will receive seven outs in the first round instead of the usual ten. The player with the highest home run total from each league will receive an automatic bye into the third round (the semifinals). The next two players with the highest totals will face off against eachother head-to-head in the second round, again receiving seven outs, before moving on to the semifinals to face their league’s top seed (again, with seven outs to work with).

From there, the winner from each league will face off in the finals. Once again, players will be working with just seven outs apiece. Should they remain tied after that then the first tiebreaker will afford players another three outs.

The Home Run Derby has seemingly lost some of its luster in recent years, as the event tends to drag on a bit and ultimately take longer than anticipated before a winner is crowned. Now, rather than competing against the field players will need to win out their own league first before standing a chance at winning it all.

This year’s Home Run Derby will begin at 8:00 PM EST and is scheduled to be aired on ESPN. Chris Berman and John Kruk will do the announcing.

The field includes ten players, five each from the National League and American League. We take a closer look at each of them on the next page (note: all stats are entering play as of Friday).

Jul 9, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) hits a solo home run during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. The Rockies won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies (captain)

Tulowitzki has been off to a fantastic start to the 2014 season and has quietly led the NL in batting for much of the year. He has 20 home runs on the year to go along with a .350/.441/.616 line and an NL-leading 70 runs scored.

Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

Stanton is leading the NL with 21 home runs and 63 RBI at the season’s midway point, to go along with a .299/.396/.548 batting line. With the struggles that the Marlins have endured this season, he’s a large reason why they remained in the thick of things in the NL East as long as they did.

Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers

With a modest 12 home runs on the year to date, Puig is on pace to surpass his totals from a season ago (he hit 19 his rookie season). He’s batting a solid .306/.391/.520 on the year.

Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds

With the number of injuries this Reds team has faced it’s amazing that pitchers ever give Frazier anything to hit, but he’s batted .289/.352/.490 on the year with 17 home runs so far.

Justin Morneau, Colorado Rockies

The former Twin and someone who’ll certainly receive a warm reception from the Minnesota faithful, Morneau is having his best season since 2010. He’s hitting .313/.346/.509 with 13 home runs.