Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki named captains for Home Run Derby

The 2014 Home Run Derby at Target Field has its captains and also a new format to determine a champion.

Jun 24, 2014, 12:35 AM UTC

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

With MLB's annual Home Run Derby now three weeks away, the league announced that Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki will be the captains during the event on July 14 at Target Field.

Bautista and Tulowitzki are also currently the top two vote-getters in MLB’s All-Star voting and will have the chance to determine the other four participants from their respective leagues. Fans can still make suggestions on who should be named to the Home Run Derby while the captains and MLB will consult this week to decide who will participate.

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Bautista has hit 15 home runs this season, which puts him 10th in the American League. His Toronto teammate Edwin Encarnacion's 24 long balls currently lead the majors. Colorado's Tulowitzki trails only Giancarlo Stanton in home runs among National Leaguers with 18 on the season.

This will be Bautista's third Home Run Derby appearance after the Blue Jays slugger participated in 2011 and 2012. Tulowitzki will be making his first Derby appearance and will become just the seventh shortstop to ever take part in the event; Hanley Ramirez was the last to do so, in 2010.

The Home Run Derby will also feature a new format involving 10 players and seven outs per round. Following the opening round, batters will compete head-to-head in bracketed play against an opponent from their own league, with the winners of the AL and NL semifinals squaring off in the final round to see who will be crowned the 2014 Home Run Derby champion.

2014 @Gillette #HRDerby will have new format, including bracketed play after Round 1. http://t.co/YxqJrawfK9 pic.twitter.com/XCHfMKkkxU
— MLB (@MLB) June 23, 2014

With Yoenis Cespedes possibly getting a chance to defend his title and batters like Stanton, Encarnacion, Yasiel Puig and Miguel Cabrera standing as potential participants, this year's Derby will likely feature its fair share of entertainment, long balls, and bat flips.