Todd Frazier favored to win Home Run Derby by oddsmakers
By Mike Axisa | Baseball Writer
July 10, 2015 12:40 pm ET
The Home Run Derby has a new format this year, and earlier this week MLB announced the eight participants who will take their swings at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati next Monday.
The oddsmakers at Bovada have now chimed in, and they say Todd Frazier of the hometown Reds is favored to win the Home Run Derby. Here are the odds:
Frazier comes into Friday hitting .281/.337/.586 (149 OPS+) with 24 doubles and 25 home runs. He leads baseball with 50 extra-base hits, three more than Brian Dozier and Nolan Arenado.
Pederson at 7/1 seems like great odds to me. He leads baseball in average home run distance at 427.32 feet -- three feet more than any other player! -- according to Baseball Savant, you know (min. 10 homers).
Here are some more fun Home Run Derby factoids from the Reds:
TOP 10 PROJECTED DISTANCES – (HRD PARTICIPANTS ONLY)
1. 481' Josh Donaldson, TOR (4/23)
2. 477' Kris Bryant, CHI (5/26)
3. 477' Joc Pederson, LAD (6/2)
4. 472' Joc Pederson, LAD (6/2)
5. 458' Joc Pederson, LAD (6/29)
6. 454' Albert Pujols, LAA (5/30)
7. 451' Joc Pederson, LAD (5/1)
8. 449' Kris Bryant, CHI (5/12)
9. 449' Joc Pederson, LAD (6/1)
10. 449' Joc Pederson, LAD (6/20)
TOP 10 EXIT VELOCITY HR (MPH) – (HRD PARTICIPANTS ONLY)
1. 112.51 Josh Donaldson, TOR (4/23)
2. 111.23 Joc Pederson, LAD (5/2)
3. 110.99 Albert Pujols, LAA (6/2)
4. 110.93 Kris Bryant, CHI (5/12)
5. 110.78 Anthony Rizzo, CHI (6/19)
6. 110.70 Joc Pederson, LAD (6/20)
7. 110.45 Josh Donaldson, TOR (6/10)
8. 110.15 Josh Donaldson, TOR (5/25)
9. 109.62 Joc Pederson, LAD (4/29)
10. 109.49 Prince Fielder, TEX (5/25)
See what I was saying about Pederson? He owns three of the top five and six of the top 10 home runs among Derby participants in projected distance this season. Projected distance means how far the ball would have traveled unimpeded, without seats or fans or anything else in the way to stop it.
Here is the 2015 Home Run Derby bracket:
The eight players are seeded in order of their regular season home run totals and are competing head-to-head. The 2015 Home Run Derby will be held Monday, July 13 in Cincinnati.