The bracket for the 2016 Home Run Derby was released Thursday evening.
The 2016 Home Run Derby is less than a week away and the anticipation will continue to grow after the bracket was released Thursday evening.
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The bracket is filled with power, with the only notable absence being San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. Perhaps he will get a chance to put the rest of the league to shame in 2017.
The bracket system was introduced to set up head-to-head matchups throughout the event, allowing fans to watch some of the best home run hitters one-up each other the night before the All-Star Game.
Mark Trumbo enters as the top-seeded hitter, which makes sense given his league-leading 26 home runs to this point. He takes on Corey Seager in the first round.
The only name casual baseball fans may not recognize is that of Adam Duvall, but he is certainly worthy of a spot in the Derby. The 27-year-old Cincinnati Reds outfielder entered 2016 with eight career home runs. He enters play Thursday with 22 home runs in 2016, and can be the underdog story of the night if he is able to win it all.
Duvall also has a chance to meet up with former Reds slugger and defending Home Run Derby champion Todd Frazier in the second round. Frazier won the event in Cincinnati last year, but was traded to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason. Duvall beating Frazier in the semifinals would be  a great moment, but he still has to get through San Diego’s own Wil Myers in the first round. That alone is a tough task.
It is hard to determine a favorite this year, as each matchup features great hitters. The first-round matchup between Robinson Cano and Giancarlo Stanton could be a finals matchup any other year. The same goes for Frazier and Carlos Gonzalez.
The bracket system allows for these great matchups to happen early on in the event, which should make for a great viewing event on Monday night.
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