Last Updated on July 11, 2016 7:28 am by Brad Burns
Reigning HR Derby champ draws Gonzalez
Todd Frazier earned legions of new fans across America with last year’s epic Home Run Derby display. Can he summon that same kind of Herculean strength while donning a new uniform?
Now a member of the Chicago White Sox, Frazier aims to defend his crown tonight. The third baseman’s Round 1 opponent is Colorado outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the event veteran odds of -150 to reach the final four, whereas the sweet-swinging CarGo enters as a +120 underdog.
Mixing equal parts power and personality in 2015, then-Cincinnati Red Frazier dazzled the home crowd in the Queen City. He took down Prince Fielder, Josh Donaldson and Joc Pederson en route to winning the whole thing. This season, the Rutgers product has developed an even greater fondness for yanking the ball out of the yard. Frazier trails only Mark Trumbo for the American League lead in homers.
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As for Gonzalez, he’s anything but a product of the Coors Field altitude. Seventy-five of the three-time All-Star’s 194 career dingers have come away from Denver, and the Petco Park faithful will (begrudgingly) attest to his frequent magnificence in San Diego. Experience, though, definitely plays into Frazier’s favor and makes him a virtual lock to advance in the competition.
HOME RUN DERBY FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP: TODD FRAZIER -150