The Home Run Derby will be broadcast tonight at 8 PM ET on ESPN. It’s chock full of the game’s best sluggers, including defending champion Giancarlo Stanton who’ll try to repeat at his home park in Miami.
Here are the matchups with each player’s seed included in parentheses:
- MIA Giancarlo Stanton (1) vs. NYY Gary Sanchez (8)
- KC Mike Moustakas (4) vs. MIN Miguel Sano (5)
- NYY Aaron Judge (2) vs. MIA Justin Bour (7)
- LAD Cody Bellinger (3) vs. COL Charlie Blackmon (6)
As we did last year, Craig, Ashley, and I have peered into our crystal ball to tell you exactly what’s going to happen tonight.
Craig
First Round
- Sanchez upsets Stanton in the first round. UPSET OF THE CENTURY! Logan Morrison HANGS HIS HEAD IN SHAME!
- Sano beats Moustakas
- Judge KILLS Bour
- Bellinger beats Blackmon
Second Round
- Sano beats Sanchez — Gary peaks early and gets exhausted
- Judge beats Bellinger
Finals
- Judge beats Sano, launching 1000 “the torch has been passed” columns. Then Stanton kills him next year and normalcy is returned.
Ashley
First Round
- Stanton over Sanchez
- Sano over Moustakas
- Judge over Bour
- Bellinger over Blackmon
Life works out just as you expect it will. The established slugger vs. rookie slugger narrative lives on, and Miguel Sano and Cody Bellinger play their supporting roles with grace and dignity.
Second Round
- Sano over Stanton
- Judge over Bellinger
Stanton falls short of glory, prompting the Marlins to turn off the home run machine. If Bigfoot can’t hit all of the dingers, no dingers shall be celebrated with colorful lights, leaping fish and Lisa Frank levels of spectacle. Aaron Judge soldiers on.
Finals
- Judge over Sano
Judge beats Sano by one mammoth home run, but fails to clear 500 feet. The ghost of Joe DiMaggio demands his rookie home run title back and sentences Judge to the curse of all Yankee Home Run Derby champions: the inability to repeat.
Bill
First Round
- Sanchez holds his own, making Logan Morrison eat crow, but ultimately falls a couple homers short and Stanton moves on
- Sano advances past Moustakas and hits the most home runs of any player in the first round
- Bour beats Judge somehow
- Blackmon takes down Bellinger, who will have the fewest home runs in the first round
Second Round
- Sano gets gassed from hitting so many homers and Stanton moves on to the finals
- Blackmon doesn’t stop hitting homers, breezes past Bour
Finals
- Stanton narrowly edges Blackmon to repeat as Home Run Derby champion
Feel free to leave your own predictions in the comments. Should be a fun night.
