The Home Run Derby to feature new Brackets and Timed Rounds

The 2015 Home Run Derby will be played differently then the other Home Run Derby's before this. This year there will be new brackets and timed rounds. It will also be organized in a single elimination bracket that lasts 3 rounds. There will no longer be a number of outs for each player. Each player will now have a 5 minute clock to hit the most home runs. The clock will stop after the home run balls hit in the final minute and will not begin until another non-home run ball lands or the batter swings or misses.

The batters will get rewarded for having more power as well. Hitters will receive an additional minute of swings if they hit 2 home runs projected to land 420 feet during a single turn and if they hit a homer of at least 475 feet, they will get an additional 30 seconds.

If there are an head to head ties during the event, the two batters will compete in a 90-second swing off during which the clock must not stop and no bonus time will be given. The player that gets the most home runs during the 90-second span will advance to the next round.

If Yoenis Cespedes participates, he could be the 1st player ever to win the Home Run Derby in 3 consecutive years. He might then be able to with Giancarlo Stanton injuring his hand and being out for 4-6 weeks, missing the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game.

Here is a photo of all of the rules and how the bracket goes for the Home Run Derby:


The Home Run Derby will be played differently, with some people not liking it, and some people liking it.

N.L. All Star Vote Leaders are More Spread Out

The All Star Game is coming up and the A.L. is not fair with votes. There are 7 Royals leading in votes. 7! The N.L. has a different story as only 2 teams have multiple leaders in the votes. The top 3 leaders in votes at all positions but outfield and top 5 for outfield is shown as of June 22:

     Catcher:
     1.Buster Posey SF (6,510,231)
     2.Yadier Molina STL(5,251,040)
     3.Fransisco Cervelli PIT(1,918,793)

     First Base:
     1.Paul Goldschmidt ARI(5,867,602)
     2.Adrian Gonzalez LAD(3,329,716)
     3.Joey Votto CIN(2,476,879)
    
     Second Base:
     1.Dee Gordon MIA(5,244,914)
     2.Kolten Wong STL(4,025,055)
     3.Joe Panik SF(2,450,837)
    
     Third Base:
     1.Matt Carpenter STL(5,504,5340
     2.Todd Frazier CIN(4,308,446)
     3.Kris Bryant CHC(3,042,439)

     Short Stop:
     1.Jhonny Peralta STL(5,864,485)
     2.Brandon Crawford SF(3,688,042)
     3.Troy Tulowitzki COL(3,074,831)

     Outfield:
     1.Bryce Harper WAS(9,224,370)
     2.Giancarlo Stanton MIA(4,824,989)
     3.Matt Holiday STL(4,716,941)
     4.Nori Aoki SF(4349,685)
     5.Andrew McCutchen PIT(3,542,622)

There you have it, the N.L all star top 3/5 for the all star game. I hope you vote like this for the A.L. too, so less people are mad.

Pete Rose Shouldn't Go To The Hall of Fame

Pete Rose hasn't been able to go to the Hall of Fame for 24 years. I believe that he still shouldn't be able to be in the Hall of Fame. There is proof that he bet on games (Reds games and others) while he was managing. Now there is proof that he did it as a player too.

One of the rules of baseball states that if any person dealing with the team bets on their team, they will be declared permanently ineligible to go to the Hall of Fame. That rule is in every clubhouse in the MLB. He also bet on non baseball games.

He wasn't able to go to the Hall of Fame earlier before the MLB knew about betting when he was playing, so why would they let him go now when they realized that he also bet as a player too? They shouldn't, exactly!

I know that some people will disagree with me when I say that he shouldn't go to the Hall of Fame and they might be right. But I will still think that he shouldn't go to the Hall of Fame because of his betting problem and even betting on his own team.

Fantasy Baseball Notes To Help For The Rest Of The Week

Every Week, I will try to give fantasy advice for the week. I will talk about 1 or 2 pitchers to start for each day, 3 hitters for the whole week, and injuries for some key players. If I have some more time I can do more pitchers, hitters, and injuries. I now give you your advice from the rest of days of June 22-June 28.

Hitters: One hitter that you can count on for the week is Maikel Franco. Through two days to begin the week he has 3 home runs. He is facing the Yankees again tomorrow and then he faces the Nationals for three days. He faces Max Scherzer in Game 1. That is a tough matchup but then he faces 2 guys that haven't been the best this year in Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg.

Another hitter is Brett Gardner. He has homered in his first two games this week and again faces the Phills. He faces then the Astros for 4. He faces a tough matchup in the first game but easier ones the second and third and then the fourth. He has 4 homers in his past 6 games and is now on a hot streak.

The final hitter is Albert Pujols. He hit two homers in his first two games this week and is on a roll. He has hit 7 homers in 13 games and 17 RBIs in that span. He faces the Astros for one more game and then faces the Mariners for 3 games. He faces two good pitchers to hit for the series and I think that he will keep being on a roll.

Pitchers: Gerrit Cole and Shelby Miller for today. Cole is at home where he has dominated this year with an ERA under 2 and he has won each of his last 6 outings. Miller has an ERA under 2 and he faces Jordan Zimmerman, who has lost in each of his last 3 outings

Sonny Gray and Jacob DeGrom for tomorrow. Gray has an ERA under 2 and is on the road where his 5-1 with a 1.58 ERA this year. Oh yeah, this year against the Rangers: 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA. DeGrom is pitching in a day game where he dominates. He has an ERA under 2 and it just will keep getting better.

I'm not going to with the obvious so I will do 1 pitcher for Friday and it is Anibal Sanchez. He has won his last 3 outings and is 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA in June. and is facing a White Sox team that hasn't been all that great.

I pick Yovani Gallardo for Saturday. He has stepped up as their ace and is delivering. He has only given up 5 earned runs in his last 6 games and is 1-0 with a 0.72 ERA in June.

The pitcher for Sunday is Jason Hammel. He is 2-0 in June with an ERA under 2.70 and is on road where he has 4 wins.

Injuries:
Freddie Freeman to the DL
Devon Travis could return Friday or earlier
Josh Hamilton will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A today
Daniel Murphy to start a rehab assignment this week
Travis D'Arnaud placed on the 15 day DL
Jose Fernandez to make his season debut on July 2
Lance Lynn to be activated and start tomorrow
Hasashi Iwakuma to pitch tomorrow for Triple-A
Matt Cain to make one more rehab start before joining the Giants
Matt Moore to pitch for Triple-A on Friday
Miguel Gonzalez to be activated and start Thursday

Movers for Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels is probably the best if not second best pitcher on the trade market right now other than Johnny Cueto. He has an ERA under 3.00 this year and has been the best Phillies pitcher for quite a while now. He has been in 2 all star games, a career ERA under 3.30, and over 100 career wins. He should be one of the best players on the market for trading.

He has a no trade clause so in order to be traded, he would have to agree to the deal and waive his no trade clause. I believe that the Rangers are a good fit for him and he would waive his clause if traded to the Rangers. Here is why:

1. They are a team that is winning now
2. They have some prospects
3. The Phillies and Rangers have been discussing about Hamels since the offseason

I also think that he could go to the Cardinals because some of his family lives there now. They also could use another pitcher with Adam Wainwright on the shelf for the rest of the year. They also are still winning so Hamels could go back to the playoffs. So if he goes to the Cardinals, he could spend more time with some of his family and still win games and he would have a good chance to go to the playoffs.

Hamels has been on the trade market since the beginning of the season and he has a no trade clause, but if he finds a good fit, he could be traded and could find a new place to pitch by the end of the year.