The bracket is set for the 2019 Home Run Derby. The Derby will take place at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Last year's Derby was among the most exciting in recent memory, as Bryce Harper won in front of his then-hometown Washington Nationals. Who will win this year?
Before getting to the bracket, let's lay out how this thing works. The eight players are seeded No. 1-8 based on their regular-season home-run total entering Wednesday. Ties are broken based on number of home runs hit over the past couple weeks.
As for the Derby itself, there are three rounds, each single-elimination. The batters have four minutes to hit as many homers as they can. They can stop the clock once in each of the first two rounds, and twice in the finals. Players can also earn bonus time if they hit multiple home runs longer than 440 feet. In the event of a tie, there's a minute-long homer-off.
Now, to the bracket:
Matt Chapman (injury replacement for Christian Yelich) (1) versus Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (8)
Alex Bregman (4) versus Joc Pederson (5)
Pete Alonso (2) versus Carlos Santana (7)
Josh Bell (3) versus Ronald Acuna (6)
On paper, it looks like a good field, with a decided slant toward youngsters -- like Acuna, Guerrero, and Alonso. Considering how baseball would be wise to market its best young talent, this seems like a step in the right direction.
Remember, the Derby is set to take place on Monday, July 8 at 8 p.m. It'll be aired on ESPN.
