Christian Yelich withdrew from the contest on Sunday night because of a back injury, but even without the MLB’s leading home-run hitter this regular season, the league’s annual extravaganza will be a spectacle to savor.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Monday night.
When and where is the Home Run Derby?
The Home Run Derby takes place on Monday, July 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, home of the Cleveland Indians.
TV coverage
As has been the case since 1998, ESPN will broadcast the Home Run Derby live–the event was broadcast on a same-day delayed basis between 1993 and 1998–on Monday night.
Live stream
Coverage of the Home Run Derby will also be available online via WatchESPN.com and through the WatchESPN app.
Which players are participating?
Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman replaced Christian Yelich after the Milwaukee Brewers right-fielder, who leads the MLB in home runs this season, withdrew with a back injury on Sunday.
Chapman will be the number one seed, even though Pete Alonso, Josh Bell and Alex Bregman have hit more regular-season homers than he has.
Here’s the complete field
Matt Chapman—Oakland Athletics, 21 home runs in 2019Pete Alonso—New York Mets, 28 home runs in 2019Josh Bell—Pittsburgh Pirates, 26 home runs in 2019Alex Bregman—Houston Astros, 23 home runs in 2019Joc Pederson—Los Angeles Dodgers, 20 home runs in 2019Ronald Acuna Jr. —Atlanta Braves, 20 home runs in 2019Carlos Santana—Cleveland Indians, 19 home runs in 2019Vladimir Guerrero Jr. —Toronto Blue Jays, 8 home runs in 2019
Format
The eight players will compete over three single-elimination rounds. In the first round, the matchups are determined based on the number of home runs players have hit in the regular season.
The player who has hit the most regular-season home runs is the number one seed, while the player who has hit the least is the number eight seed.
Each player aims to hit as many home runs as possible during their four-minute window in each round. Players receive a bonus 30 seconds per round if they have hit at least two home runs that travel over 440 feet.
The tie-breaker is a 90-second swing-off.
First-round matchups
Because the seedings had already been announced before Yelich’s withdrawal, Chapman will be the number one seed even though three of the eight participants have hit more home runs than he has so far this season.
The matchups are as follows (number in bracket denotes seeding)
Matt Chapman (1) vs Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (8)Alex Bregman (4) vs Joc Pederson (5)Pete Alonso (2) vs Carlos Santana (7)Josh Bell (3) vs Ronald Acuna Jr. (6)
The winners of the first two matches face each other in the semifinals, as do the winner of the bottom two matches. The eventual winners of the second-round will meet in the final.
Odds
According to BetOnline, Bell is a 3/1 favorite, followed by Alonso and Guerrero at 5/1 and Acuna at 8/1, respectively. Bregman, Pederson and Santana are all 9/1 outsiders.
