Yasiel Puig accepts Home Run Derby invite

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will make the most of his first All-Star Game experience, telling reporters in Detroit on Tuesday that he has accepted Troy Tulowitzki's invitation to take part in the 2014 Home Run Derby.

The Home Run Derby will take place at Target Field in Minnesota on Monday, July 14 and will be televised by ESPN and online at MLB.com beginning at 5 p.m. PT.

Puig is the fifth different Dodgers player to participate in the Home Run Derby, joining Mike Piazza (1993, 1994), Raul Mondesi (1995), Hee-Seop Choi (2005) and Matt Kemp (2011, 2012). The results were not good.

Puig is hitting .307/.393/.516 with 12 home runs in 84 games this season entering Tuesday, though he went 33 games and 139 plate appearances without a home run for more than a month until his home run on Friday in Colorado. The right fielder had a good sense of humor about his recent power drought.

Yasiel Puig isn't worried his numbers will decline by participating in home run derby. "Mine started to go down already," he said, laughing.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) July 8, 2014

Eight of the 10 Home Run Derby rosters were revealed on Tuesday, with the remaining two players announced Thursday. Tulowitzki, the National League team captain, will be joined by Puig, Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins and Todd Frazier of the Reds. Joey Bautista is the captain for the American League squad, and will have defending champion Yoenis Cespedes of the Athletics, Adam Jones of the Orioles and Brian Dozier of the Twins on the AL squad.

The format is new this season.

There will be five participants in each league, and seven outs per round. The top home run hitter in each league in the first round will get an automatic bye into the third round (semifinals). The second round will involve the second and third place finishers in each league facing off. The National League matchup will occur first, with the second place in each league choosing whether to bat first or second in the second round.

In the semifinals, the winner from the first round gets to choose to bat first or second. In the finals, the batting order will be determined by coin flip.