Defending Champ Stanton is Top Seed in HR Derby; Judge No. 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Defending champion Giancarlo Stanton will be the top seed in the Home Run Derby on Monday night at his home ballpark in Miami.
Stanton received the No. 1 seed after winning the event during All-Star week last year in San Diego. He will face New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, the No. 8 seed, in the opening round at Marlins Park.
Yankees rookie Aaron Judge, who leads the majors with 29 home runs, is the No. 2 seed and will square off against seventh-seeded Justin Bour of the hometown Marlins. Another rookie, No. 3 seed Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is paired with sixth-seeded Charlie Blackmon of Colorado. No. 4 seed Mike Moustakas from the Kansas City Royals is matched against Minnesota slugger Miguel Sano, the fifth seed.
Major League Baseball announced the bracket Wednesday night. After Stanton, players were seeded based on their home run totals through Tuesday's games. In the case of a tie, the higher seed went to the player with the most home runs since June 15.