Home Run Derby 2015: Breaking Down Bracket's Top Participants

The 2015 Home Run Derby will undergo a massive overhaul, tightening up a typically long evening.

Rather than give every batter 10 outs, the All-Star event will shift to a timed format incentivizing deep bombs. ESPN Stats & Info explained the new rules:

While the opening round's top performers previously advanced, the eight contestants will now compete in a single-elimination tournament seeded by 2015 home runs. ESPN Stats & Info provided the layout, which coincidentally has an American League slugger taking on a National League player in each first-round tilt:

These alterations should slice Monday night's run time, a welcome sight for fans who enjoy seeing dingers, but not for four hours. Even though the dais features some disappointing holdouts in Bryce Harper, Mike Trout and the injured Giancarlo Stanton, several marquee names round out the star-studded field.

Breaking Down Bracket

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Youth dominates most of the bracket, with a couple of old geezers taking on the new wave of superstars. Aside from Albert Pujols and two-time Derby champion Prince Fielder, every contestant is under 30 years old.

Pujols raked his way into an invite with a tournament-high 26 homers, 23 since May 1. Fielder, who has recovered from neck surgery to hit .339, has a tame 14 long balls for his usual lofty standards. Had the Chicago Cubs not kept Kris Bryant's arbitration clock ticking beyond Opening Day, the Texas Rangers designated hitter would likely carry the fewest dingers of any participant.

The 31-year-old has generated a career-low 31.4 pull percentage, which helps explain his unusually high average but doesn't work well for glorified batting practice. This contest is all about pull power, which the burly bopper must harness again to justify his legacy inclusion.

Player	Team	Pull %
Albert Pujols	LAA	44.7
Todd Frazier	CIN	44.6
Joc Pederson	LAD	44.6
Anthony Rizzo	CHC	40.8
Kris Bryant	CHC	38.5
Josh Donaldson	TOR	35.6
Manny Machado	BAL	35.5
Prince Fielder	TEX	31.4

A Pujols victory would make a great narrative. With his engine breaking down last year, the future Hall of Famer has looked as good as new over the past two months. The 35-year-old has a chance to put all the young whippersnappers in place during his fourth Derby appearance. The Los Angeles Angels first baseman welcomes another opportunity, per MLB's Twitter page:

Yet he faces a formidable first-round foe in Bryant, who drew the No. 8 seed determined by raw homer tallies. The 6'4", 215-pound rookie has averaged a true distance of 406.9 feet over his dozen dingers, and he's used to swinging for the fences on every at-bat.

He'll make a tough out for Pujols in the bracket's most intriguing opening bout. Joc Pederson and Todd Frazier, however, loom as the top two contenders.

An easy choice to represent the hosting Cincinnati Reds, the National League's starting third baseman has already belted 15 homers inside Great American Ball Park this season. Along with his home-field advantage, the 29-year-old has tournament experience, finishing second behind Yoenis Cespedes last year.

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Leading all contestants with a .301 isolated power, he's the co-favorite with Fielder to take home the crown, according to Odds Shark. Bettors, however, may want to pay more attention to the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie.

Pederson's approach is tailor-made for the Home Run Derby. His .230 batting average means nothing here, but his MLB-best true distance of 430.5 feet on 20 deep flies means everything. When he gets hold of a baseball, he destroys it. Those poor Rawlings will have nowhere to hide on Monday night.

The new format allots bonus times for balls hit over 420 feet, which should give the 23-year-old a massive edge. 

Note: Advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs and ESPN.com.