The Los Angeles Dodgers will have a participant in the Home Run Derby for a sixth consecutive year, as Joc Pederson was officially among the eight players named to the annual event.
Brackets in the first round were seeded based on 2019 home run totals leading up to the announcement of the participants last Tuesday. Ties were broken by awarding the higher seed to the player who reached his current home run total first.
Pederson, who ranks third on the Dodgers with 20 home runs, heading into the even as the No. 5 seed. He will face Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (No. 4 seed) in the first round.
The Major League home run leader, Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, earned the No. 1 seed after slugging 31 first half home runs. However, he will not participate due to a back injury.
Yelich has been replaced by Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman, who takes on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Toronto Blue Jays rookie made the Derby despite only hitting eight homers.
New York Mets first baseman and leading National League Rookie of the Year candidate Pete Alonso (28) earned the second seed and will compete against Carlos Santana (19) of the hometown Cleveland Indians.
The final first-round matchup pits Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell (26) against Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (20).
A notable omission from this year’s showcase is defending champion Bryce Harper. He defeated Max Muncy in the semifinals a year ago.
Of the eight participants in 2019, Pederson and Bregman were the final additions. Pederson previously competed in the competition his rookie season in 2015 and made it all the way to the finals before falling short against Todd Frazier.
Each of the eight hitters will have five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. Winners of the first round matchups will advance to the semifinals, and then the two semifinal winners will meet in the final round.
Hitters can earn a 30-second bonus for two home runs hit over 440 feet. A 45-second timeout is allowed for each player in every round.
The 2019 T-Mobile Home Run Derby will be held at Progressive Field in Cleveland, and broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com, beginning at 5 p.m. PT.
In addition to coverage on ESPN and MLB.com, the Derby will be broadcast live on ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App. ESPN2 will simulcast the event in Spanish via ESPN Deportes’ live coverage. The Home Run Derby will also air on ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes Radio.
