The All-Star break is on the horizon, and the excitement is building for the 2023 Home Run Derby. This year’s event will be held on Monday, July 10 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. It will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN. Heading into Wednesday’s bracket reveal show on ESPN, we knew seven of the eight competitors. Now, we have the seeding and the full player field ready to go for Monday night.
Last year’s Home Run Derby set the bar fairly high for this year. Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez made it all the way to the finals before falling 19-18 against Juan Soto. Rodriguez is back again this year, along with 2019 and 2021 home run derby champ Pete Alonso. The latter hit 20 home runs in the first round to defeat Ronald Acuna Jr. but fell in the second round to Rodriguez and his 31 home runs.
2023 Home Run Derby Bracket
No. 1 Luis Robert vs. No. 8 Adley Rutschman
No. 5 Randy Arozarena vs. No. 4 Adolis Garcia
No. 2 Pete Alonso vs. No. 7 Julio Rodriguez
No. 6 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. No. 3 Mookie Betts
Seeds were determined by 2023 home run totals, with the tie-breaker being home runs since June 15. Robert has 25 home runs, the most among outfielders in the majors this season. He was tied with Alonso but picked up the No. 1 seed after hitting nine home runs since June 15 to Alonso’s five.
Rutschman has his work cut out for him against Robert in the first round. It was reported that the Baltimore catcher would have his dad pitch to him on Monday night. He has 11 home runs this season.
Garcia has 21 home runs heading into Wednesday’s games. His 69 RBI lead all hitters in the majors. Arozarena presents a tough matchup. He only has 16 home runs this season, but he has the power to earn some extra time giving him a chance for more swings that could be the difference maker in the matchup.
Alonso and Rodriguez are two powerhouses that will have to duke it out in the first round. This is a rematch from the second round in 2022 when JRod hit 31 home runs to Alonso’s 24.
Vladdy Jr. has the third-best exit velocity on his home runs this season. He only has 13 coming into the tournament, and there is a chance that this event could help him lock in coming out of the All-Star break. Betts has 22 home runs this season and will be making his debut at the Home Run Derby.
