Home Run Derby Odds: Todd Frazier Favored To Win 2015 Home Run Derby In Cincinnati
Home Run Derby odds are out and Todd Frazier is the favorite. The 2015 Home Run Derby will take place at the home of the Cincinnati Reds during the All-Star Game festivities. As a representative for the Reds, Frazier will certainly have a lot of support from the fans, but now he also has the Las Vegas oddsmakers backing him as well. A report from CBS Sports on Friday (July 10) has him at 7/2 odds to take home the title. In a field that could be considered pretty evenly matched, he leads the group.
With 25 home runs already this season, Todd Frazier is just four homers from matching his career-high for a season. He set that mark during the 2014 MLB season when he hit 29 home runs and drove in 80. Frazier also made his first All-Star team that year and was suddenly a very big name when it came to power hitters emerging in the National League. At a little more than the halfway point of the 2015 MLB season, it’s not a stretch to suggest he is now in the race for the NL MVP Award.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the format for the 2015 Home Run Derby has been changed to a single-elimination bracket. Each hitter will faceoff against another hitter in a similar fashion to the NCAA Tournament. The eight participants were all seeded based on their home run totals at the time the brackets were created. It makes Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels the top seed, with Todd Frazier as the second seed, and Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays as the third seed. This format change was made to add some extra excitement to the competition.
The other players leading the list on the 2015 Home Run Derby odds are Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs at 5/1, Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers at 11/2, Pujols at 6/1, and Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs at 13/2. Donaldson, Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles all have 7/1 odds. Fans going with Donaldson or Pederson could certainly find a nice payoff, as they are currently ranked third and fourth in Major League Baseball in home runs.
It will certainly be interesting and likely exciting to see how the new format works out for MLB. Having a single-elimination bracket certainly raises the excitement level in the first round, but the advantage certainly goes to hitters who have participated in the competition before. That includes Todd Frazier, Prince Fielder, and Albert Pujols. The 2015 Home Run Derby will take place Monday night (July 13) at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
[Image Source: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images]
