Home Run Derby 2016: Breaking Down Bracket's Top Participants

The first half of Major League Baseball's 2016 season wrapped up Sunday, and the game's top performers are now on their way to San Diego, California, for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.The Midsummer Classic'sfestivities kick off Monday, highlighted by the Home Run Derby, which will air at8 p.m. ET on ESPN.The Derby will follow the same bracket format MLBintroducedin 2015. The eight participants are seeded according to their first-half home run totals.The players have four minutes apiece to hit as many home runs as possible in the single-elimination tournament. Players can also gain extra timeby blasting multiple home runs of at least 440 feet.MLB Communications recently released the bracket for Monday's tournament:Here are the participants and bracket for Monday's T-Mobile Home Run Derby. pic.twitter.com/N3TWIKUy4M MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) July 7, 2016Here's a look at the field:Chicago White Sox slugger Todd Frazier is the defending champ, having knocked off the Dodgers' Joc Pederson in the championship round last season in Cincinnati. Frazier belted a combined 39 home runs during the tournament, reaching double digits in each round.Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners is another returning former champion, having won the Derby with 32 total home runs in 2011.Cano also competed in 2012 and 2013 but finished in last place both times with just four combined homers over the two years.The favorite in this year's Derby might be the Miami Marlins'Giancarlo Stanton, who's arguably the game's most dangerous power hitter.This will be Stanton's second appearance in the Derby. He first participated in 2014, advancing to the semifinals before being knocked out by Frazier and the New York Mets'Yoenis Cespedes.Despite having a shaky first half, Stanton remains suited for the Home Run Derby. According to FanGraphs, he ranks fifth in the majors with a 25.7 percent home run-to-fly ball rate. Among this year's participants, only the Baltimore Orioles' Mark Trumbo (26.2 percent)has posted a higher rate than Stanton.As ESPN Stats & Info demonstrated, Stanton is also the clear favorite to launch the deepest home runs in the Derby:.@Marlins OF Giancarlo Stanton is No. 5 seed at HR Derby. He has 32 450-foot HR since 2010. Only 3 TEAMS have more pic.twitter.com/2JI1UAYY8L ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 7, 2016Trumbo enters the Derby as the No. 1 seed amid a career resurgence in Baltimore this season.With 28 first-half home runs, hehas already surpassed his totals from the 2014 and 2015 seasons.The hitter-friendly Camden Yards may be slightly contributing to Trumbo's increased home run totals, but he's managed an even split in the first half with 14 home runsapiece in Baltimore and on the road.The sleeper in this year's Derby could be Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Duvall. Eleven of Duvall's 23 first-half home runs traveled at least 400 feet, according to ESPN'sHome Run Tracker.Duvall also has an impressive 24.2 percent home run-to-fly ball rate, per FanGraphs, which ranks third among the participants in this year's Derby.
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