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The 2016 baseball season is headed for its All-Star break, which means it’s time for one of the great summertime traditions in the form of the Home Run Derby. 

Fans can catch the Derby at Petco Park in San Diego on Monday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. A live stream is available at WatchESPN.

The Home Run Derby will continue with the format introduced in 2015. Players are seeded according to their total number of home runs to this point in the season, with the highest seeds playing the lowest in a bracket format.

It’s single elimination, with each batter getting four minutes to sock as many dingers as possible. If a player hits two home runs of 440 feet or greater in a round, they will get 30 seconds of bonus time (Giancarlo Stanton, this rule is for you).

Eight players are whittled down to four, then two, until finally a champion is crowned. MLB Communications released the bracket for the upcoming event: 

Here’s a rundown of the players and their home run totals going into Sunday’s action:

Todd Frazier is the defending champion in the event. Representing the Cincinnati Reds last season, he bested the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson 15-14 in a thrilling final round at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Frazier, now a member of the Chicago White Sox, won’t have a chance to play hometown hero this year. That task is up to San Diego’s Wil Myers, who leads his Padres with 19 home runs on the season.

The Dodgers have been well-represented in recent Home Run Derbys, with Yasiel Puig and the aforementioned Pederson taking a crack at the competition. This year, it’s another young gun in rookie shortstop Corey Seager, who is bringing up the rear with 17 home runs but has proved to be one of the league’s most promising young talents in making this year’s All-Star Game.

Seager may not be long for the competition, as he goes up against top-seeded Mark Trumbo in the first round. The Baltimore Orioles slugger leads the majors with 28 home runs, and he is third among Home Run Derby participants in average home run length at 413 feet, per MLB.com’s Doug Miller (Carlos Gonzalez and Stanton are first and second, respectively).

Based on his previous run-outs in the Derby, the Baltimore Sun‘s Eduardo A. Encina likes Trumbo‘s chances:

The head-to-head format plays to Trumbo’s favor because of his consistency hitting the ball out of the park. When Trumbo competed in the 2012 derby – which was different in that hitters advanced to the finals by total homers hit over the first two rounds – Trumbo was the only player to hit six or more homers in each of the first two rounds.

While Trumbo‘s consistency might win him the competition, the player most likely to play the role of fan favorite is Stanton, who crushes long home runs with great regularity and recently hit his 200th career home run.

The 26-year-old is going through a trying season, sporting a .233 average and slugging just .487, well off his usual marks. It’s a frivolous competition to be sure, but Stanton could use some sort of a boost as he looks to put his miserable first half of the season behind him.

Should the Marlins masher find his stroke, he’ll win over the crowd—and quite possibly win the whole Derby—by blasting baseballs high into the Southern California summer night. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

One big part of Major League Baseball’s annual All-Star festivities is the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, featuring some of the biggest stars in pop culture and baseball legends teaming up for bragging rights. 

This year’s game promises to be a memorable affair, with stars such as Jamie Foxx and Terry Crews set to lace up their cleats alongside Hall of Famers such as Andre Dawson and Rickey Henderson. The game will be taped after Sunday’s MLB Futures Game but air Monday night on ESPN after the Home Run Derby. 

In anticipation of the star-studded game at Petco Park in San Diego, California, here’s the official roster of players participating and viewing information.

Roster

Viewing Information

MVP Prediction

There is no shortage of options for the potential MVP of the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game. The list of baseball legends playing in the game is a good place to start looking, with Henderson being a strong candidate because no one likes the spotlight more.

Henderson is no stranger to this game, with this being his sixth trip. Even at 57 years old, he probably still believes he would be the best leadoff hitter in MLB if a team would sign him.

However, looking at the list of non-baseball players in the game, it’s more fun to think about what they are capable of doing.

For instance, Mark-Paul Gosselaar is going to don a uniform. His most famous role is Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell, with his gimmick on the show being that he could stop time by saying “timeout” and putting his hands together to make a “T.”

Assuming Saved by the Bell was a documentary masquerading as a television show—which I have convinced myself it is—all Gosselaar has to do whenever he puts the ball in play is stop everyone on the field from moving, allowing him to circle the bases at will.

That’s probably asking too much, so Gosselaar moves down the list of MVP candidates. Instead, let’s show some love to a grizzled veteran like J.K. Simmons.

Aside from Crews, there won’t be anyone showing up in San Diego in better physical condition than Simmons, as this photo that retired U.S. marine Aaron Williamson posted on Instagram shows:

Let’s remember that Simmons is 61 years old, so there’s nothing the man can’t do. He’s also the most intimidating person on the planet, as anyone who saw his Oscar-winning performance in Whiplash can attest to.

Yet I prefer to look off the board for an MVP candidate, which leads me to Tyler Hoechlin. The 28-year-old actor is not a household name, but his baseball credentials are as good as those of anyone else in the game who didn’t play in the big leagues. 

Hoechlin played college baseball at Arizona State and UC Irvine, appearing in 32 games with UC Irvine in 2008 and hitting .250 with three extra-base hits.

In addition to his on-field exploits, Hoechlin was one of the stars in Richard Linklater’s 2016 film Everybody Wants Some!!

The centerpiece of the movie is a baseball practice before the college semester starts, with Hoechlin looking like a solid hitter when he stepped into the batter’s box.

It’s not a quality that gets talked about enough in sports movies, but it’s easier to take the performance seriously when someone looks like he or she should be on the field. Hoechlin has that rare ability to be both a good actor and an athlete, which is why he will win the game’s MVP award.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

At least this game doesn’t count.

Using the MLB All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game as some sort of tiebreaker wouldn’t be much sillier than the All-Star Game determining home-field advantage for the World Series. Luckily this is not yet the case, so viewers can instead laugh at famous people embarrassing themselves while wondering which legends would still represent an upgrade for the Atlanta Braves.

After getting a glimpse of the game’s upcoming stars during the Futures Game, a wide-ranging group of athletes, actors, models and musicians will take the field on Sunday night. The contest, however, won’t be televised until the Home Run Derby concludes on Monday night.

Do any of these softball participants have a future in the big leagues? Not unless Manny Delgado from Modern Family swaps talents with Manny Machado. Will Tim Raines lock down his deserving spot in Cooperstown with a strong performance? One can only hope.

Or it’s just something to leave on before going to bed after watching Giancarlo Stanton decimate baseballs. That’s fine, too. Here’s a look at the schedule and rosters, courtesy of MLB.com.

All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game

When: Sunday, July 10 (televised on June 11)

Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California

Time: Following the MLB Futures Game (starts at 7 p.m. ET)

TV: ESPN (Monday night after the Home Run Derby, which begins at 8 p.m. ET) 

This game doesn’t have Stanton and Mark Trumbo, but two hulking celebrity ringers could bring the power.

Now everyone knows why J.K. Simmons bulked up. Commissioner Gordon doesn’t need to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but the veteran actor needs those muscles to take Rollie Fingers or David Wells deep.

Per Business Insider’s Jason Guerrasio, he insists the transformation had nothing to do with saving Gotham City or showing up Jennie Finch.

“This is all coincidental,” Simmons said. “After the second and final time that I got hugely fat in my life and when I lost that weight six or seven years ago, I pretty much decided that I was going to stay in decent shape for the rest of my life.”

Before branding him the game’s most muscular celebrity, let’s not forget about Terry Crews. Before becoming an Old Spice spokesman and playing Terry Jeffords on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1991.

The former linebacker now has the makings of a bat-first first baseman or corner outfielder injected into the lineup for pop. And yes, this is the same game featuring multiple actors from Disney Channel shows.

On the legends front, Sunday night will turn into an impromptu celebration of the Montreal Expos. Raines might not have much left in the tank at age 56, but Vladimir Guerrero is five years removed from the majors.

The 41-year-old also has a Hall of Fame case to cement. He retired hitting .317/.379/.553 with 449 home runs and 181 stolen bases, but poor defensive metrics could place his candidacy into peril. Nevertheless, the free swinger hit baseballs few others could touch, and he hit them hard. 

Never one to hold back, a gloveless Guerrero will once again swing for the fences with all his might. He’ll supply energy to the lackadaisical contest, perhaps even giving front offices ideas of pitching a comeback.

An assortment of former San Diego Padres stars will also return to Petco Park. He spent most of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but Ozzie Smith stole 147 bases and won the first two of 13 straight Gold Glove awards with the Friars.

Chris Berman won’t be the only Boomer on ESPN Monday night. Wells, who made two separate stops in San Diego during his 40s, will compete for unofficial win No. 240. An actual pitcher win doesn’t matter much anyway, so why not count a few underhanded outs?

If the softball gods work their magic, the team with Trevor Hoffman will nurse a small lead into the final frame. Six years after hanging up his cleats, MLB’s second all-time saves leader behind Mariano Rivera could receive another opportunity to run out with “Hells Bells” blaring over Petco’s speakers.

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The Home Run Derby has become a staple of the All-Star festivities since it was first introduced in 1985, and Major League Baseball seems determined to keep improving the competition.

Eight players will take part in this year’s event, and they are seeded based on the number of home runs they have hit to this point in the season. Ties are broken by giving the edge to the players who have hit the most home runs since June 1.

The eight players in the derby include Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles, defending champion Todd Frazier of the Chicago White Sox, Adam Duvall of the Cincinnati Reds, Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners, Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins, Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres, Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies and Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Major League Baseball is running the Home Run Derby the same way the NBA or NHL runs its playoffs. The top seed will square off with the eighth seed, the second seed will meet the seventh seed, the third will battle the sixth and the fourth will meet the fifth.

After the first round, the highest remaining seed will meet the lowest, and the two middles seeds will battle for a spot in the finals. Those two semifinal winners will meet in the championship round.

Each hitter will have four minutes to hit as many balls over the fence as possible, and a player can gain an extra 30 seconds of hitting time by hitting two blasts that go 440 feet or more. Hitters competing in the first two rounds get one 45-second break in each round, while finalists can call timeout twice in that round.

If a round ends with the two participants tied, they will meet in a 60-second swing-off, with no timeouts available. If it is still tied, each player gets three swings until the tie is broken.

MLB went to these rules in 2015, per Sports Illustrated.

Frazier won last year’s title as a slugging third baseman of the Cincinnati Reds. This time, he represents the Chicago White Sox, and he will try to become the second White Sox power hitter to win the Home Run Derby. The other winner was Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.

Frazier will have to take on Gonzalez, and he knows that’s a tough matchup. “You look at who I’m stacked up against, and there are some big guns,” Frazier told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “It starts off with Carlos Gonzalez. It’s going to be a tough first round.”

Stanton’s ability to hit the long blast may make him the most exciting figure in the Home Run Derby. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Stanton has hit 32 home runs that have traveled 450 feet or longer since 2010.

Cano won the event in 2011, and his smooth swing gives him a chance to get in a groove and rip off a slew of home runs.

Trumbo will be expected to beat Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, but expectations bring pressure. If Trumbo doesn’t get off to a good start, he could have a hard time dominating the competition.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The upcoming MLB All-Star break freezes the standings, forcing organizations to spend the reprieve deliberating their status before the trade deadline.

For just this year, general managers get an extra day with the non-waiver deadline pushed to August 1. Action won’t accelerate until later in July, but everyone can get a feel for who’s buying, who’s selling and which players will frequent the conversations.

Let’s not get carried away with grand aspirations of the Los Angeles Angels opening a bidding war for Mike Trout. A last-place team will sell veterans but usually not young stars. For that reason, this won’t be a place to discuss trade scenarios for Wil Myers (25 years old), Julio Teheran (25), Chris Archer (27) or Sonny Gray (26).

Let’s instead examine notable players with a more realistic chance of changing employers before the deadline. It’s not all veterans on expiring contracts, as a couple of need-based exchanges should intrigue all parties.

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Last year’s Home Run Derby format changes breathed new life into a tradition that had been gradually growing stale.

In hopes of speeding up the exhibition event, MLB introduced a single-elimination, eight-person bracket with timed rounds instead of outs. Since every blast isn’t equal, batters also earned bonus time based on distance traveled.

The players are seeded by their current home run tallies, with a coin flip serving as the tiebreaker. If a tie occurs during any round, a 90-second swing-off will break the stalemate.

Perhaps Petco Park’s history as a pitcher’s haven has scared away some dream participants, but the show must go on. Do you want the truth about an event that is in danger of running its course, or do you want to see some players sock a few dingers?

Here’s a look at the official participants and the bracket announced by MLB Thursday night:

2016 MLB Home Run Derby

When: Monday at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Petco Park, San Diego

TV: ESPN

There’s one problem plaguing this year’s Home Run Derby: None of the top stars wanted to do it.

Mike Trout and Bryce Harper—two of the game’s brightest superstars whose collision would script a cash-cow narrative—provided the exact same response.

“I just don’t want to, plain and simple,” Harper told ESPN.com’s Eddie Matz Tuesday. “I just don’t really wanna do it. I just want to enjoy my time, sit on the side and watch it a little bit.”

“I just don’t want to do it,” Trout said, per Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s a long two days. Eventually, I’m gonna try to do it, just not this year.”

They’re not the only marquee holdouts. Kris Bryant—who has joined them on the top pantheon of young phenoms with a National League-high 25 home runs—also passed, per CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine:

I don’t want to do it. It is too tiring. I will enjoy watching it if I am there. Last year, it really took me a couple of days to recover from it. Swinging a bat does not look like it is tiring, but when you do it for five straight minutes, trying to hit it as hard as you can, it gets real tiring. Home Run Derbys are fun, but I will have to pass.

David Ortiz leads the majors with a hulking .677 slugging percentage during his final season. He has to do it, right? Nope. The 40-year-old is worried about wearing himself thin, so he’s out too. 

Let’s hold off on inviting Madison Bumgarner and Ichiro Suzuki out of desperation. There’s plenty of potent pop in a field led by defending champion Todd Frazier.

Despite his .211 average, the Chicago White Sox third baseman has already crushed 23 long balls, nearly matching his 25 at last year’s All-Star break. He’ll face steep competition in Mark Trumbo, who leads MLB with 26 homers and an average home run distance of 413 feet, per Baseball Savant. 

For the second straight year, a rookie will represent the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Home Run Derby. Fans will hope All-Star shortstop Corey Seager doesn’t keep following the path of Joc Pederson, who hit .178/.317/.300 after the Midsummer Classic.

Seager, however, is a much more well-rounded hitter who has raked since joining the club last summer. If Dodgers fans are still worried, Yahoo Sports’ Will Laws debunked the fabled Home Run Derby curse:

Of those 16 most recent Derby victors, nine saw their home run rates increase after winning the contest — Yoenis Cespedes (2013), Prince Fielder (2012, 2009), Robinson Cano (2011), Vladimir Guerrero (2007), Ryan Howard (2006), Miguel Tejada (2004), Jason Giambi (2002) and Sammy Sosa (2000).

Keep in mind, these hitters were tapped to compete because they already stockpiled gaudy home run totals in the first half. And they were even more proficient after showcasing their power for the fans.

The newcomer’s biggest problem is facing Trumbo as the No. 8 seed. If Seager prevails, he must then eliminate 2011 champion Robinson Cano or Giancarlo Stanton, a power cyborg constructed specifically for such an event.

While the outfielder has struggled this season, he caught fire with consecutive two-homer games against the New York Mets. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, the Miami Marlins outfielder makes sure to give fans in the nosebleeds a chance to collect a souvenir: 

Stanton is not an All-Star, but he’s still the prohibitive favorite to win Monday night. Just don’t sleep on Adam Duvall, who has hit 20 of his 22 homers since May 1. The Cincinnati Reds’ lone All-Star must first vanquish Wil Myers in front of the San Diego Padres faithful, but he’s the best bet to survive the right side of the bracket.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

While the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are still the main attractions of MLB‘s All-Star festivities, the Futures Game has continued to grow in popularity in recent years.

The annual prospect showcase gives fans a chance to see some of the sport’s future stars on the big stage, as minor league representatives from all 30 MLB teams square off in a World Team vs. U.S. Team format.

This year’s game will be played Sunday at 7 p.m. ET at Petco Park in San Diego.

We’ll have a live blog up the day of the game to track all of the action. But until then, the following will serve as a useful primer for this year’s contest.

We’ve provided a quick overview of each of the 50 prospects participating in this year’s event and given our best guess at when you can expect to see them arrive in the big leagues based on current development and their path to playing time in the majors.

If the expected arrival is this year, we provided a month. If it’s next season, we specified first half or second half, and if it was any time beyond 2017, we gave a year.

Note: The “Rank” referenced alongside each prospect’s name refers to where he falls among that team’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com’s Prospect Watch.

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While the outcome of the MLB All-Star Game matters, the Celebrity Softball Game is nothing but fun for the players and fans.

Actors, models, musicians and more will try to show just how athletic they really are, competing alongside Hall of Famers and former All-Stars. Of course, Jennie Finch will probably embarrass all of them anyway.

The score isn’t important, but every competitor will want to go home with a few plays he or she can be proud of, either at the plate or in the field. Regardless of who does well, we should at least see some memorable moments from both teams.

All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game

When: Sunday

Where: Petco Park, San Diego

Time: Following the MLB Futures Game, which begins at 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN (Monday following the Home Run Derby, which begins at 8 p.m. ET) 

While the non-athletes always want to show what they can do, the real stars are usually the former baseball players. When you can hit the ball out of a major league park with regularity, it isn’t too much trouble to knock a softball out with the fence brought in.

Tim Raines, Ozzie Smith, Andre Dawson and Fred Lynn are some of the hitters to watch during the softball game, although the most fun might be Vladimir Guerrero. The nine-time All-Star made a career out of hitting every ball that was anywhere near the plate. In a game like this, expect him to swing away on every pitch with the possibility of hitting the ball far.

Still, the most popular player in attendance will likely be Trevor Hoffman. The closer spent 16 years with the San Diego Padres, tallying 552 of his 601 career saves, and he is certain to get quite a few cheers from the hometown fans.

As Becki Schildhouse of NBC San Diego also notes, Sunday will be a busy day for the seven-time All-Star:

Meanwhile, a handful of athletes in other sports will try to show their versatility, including soccer star Landon Donovan and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

For Brees, the key might be to avoid getting overconfident. He struggled in his last celebrity softball game, explaining afterward it was the result of a lack of practice.

“I hit every ball hard, I just hit every ball on top of it,” the quarterback said, per Joel A. Erickson of the Advocate. “Obviously, I probably should’ve gotten in the cage a little bit before I got out here, but I feel like I should just be able to pick the bat up and hit it whenever I want, wherever I want on the field.”

The rest of the field is filled with musicians such as Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Tim Foreman of Switchfoot, as well as actors such as Jamie Foxx and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, also known as Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell.

One sleeper whom fans might want to watch out for is J.K. Simmons, whose strength was on display recently:

He and Terry Crews might battle for the biggest muscles in the game, which could translate to some long balls at the plate.

While all the hitters will need to come up with big showings in order to top last year’s 25-21 final, the game should be fun regardless of the outcome.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for year-round sports analysis.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Prior to Tuesday’s 2016 MLB All-Star Game, a red-carpet parade through the streets of San Diego will take place so fans can flock to see the biggest names in baseball in the event they aren’t attending the Midsummer Classic.

Beginning at 4 p.m. ET and 1 p.m. PT, the parade will go from the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel all the way to the game’s venue and home of the Padres, Petco Park. It can be viewed through live stream on MLB.com and on TV at MLB Network.

The All-Star Game’s official Twitter account provided a snapshot of the complete parade route:

As the above post mentioned, Chevrolet is the sponsor for the 12th annual event, meaning the automobiles are at the foundation of the showcase.

Prolific Padres closer Trevor Hoffman and Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield will be riding through San Diego in Corvettes as the parade’s grand marshals, per the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Kirk Kenney.

Also included in Kenney‘s report is a summary of what else to expect from the pregame spectacle.

National League manager Terry Collins and American League skipper Ned Yost are next up in the parade after the grand marshals and will appear in Camaros. Collins and Yost are followed by the All-Stars themselves, with Silverado trucks as their mode of transportation.

This year marks the first time San Diego has hosted the MLB All-Star Game since 1992, when it was held at Jack Murphy Stadium, which would eventually become Qualcomm Stadium. The city also hosted the event in 1978.

First baseman Wil Myers will be the Padres’ only All-Star representative, so he should draw plenty of cheers as fans line the blocks to welcome him and the other players.

The All-Star participants face a lengthy journey that winds through the city and is best followed on the posted map. They’ll arrive in a classy stadium that opened in 2004—but a venue that still recognizes the heritage of years past.

A focal point throughout the All-Star festivities and the glamorous red-carpet introduction will be celebrating another San Diego legend in addition to Hoffman and Winfield: the late, great Mr. Padre himself, Tony Gwynn.

San Diego’s official Twitter account posted a photo of the ballpark, featuring a statue in Gwynn’s honor that was unveiled in 2007 just beyond the outfield:

A 15-time All-Star who died in June 2014 at the age of 54 due to salivary gland cancer, Gwynn’s legacy looms over the Padres franchise, where he played his entire MLB career from 1982 to 2001. Adding a unique element to the All-Star attractions is the impending opening of the Tony Gwynn Museum, per 91X.com.

Although the museum is miles off the route of the parade, it’s worth mentioning as a special supplement to San Diego’s hosting of the All-Star Game, paying homage to Gwynn’s perpetual presence in Padres lore.

The Padres may well miss the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season this year, but the All-Star Game will be a nice interlude to celebrate their glory of the past, with Hoffman, Winfield and Gwynn as central symbols of those times.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The criticism about the MLB All-Star Game providing the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series has some merit. The advent of interleague play would provide the perfect opportunity to give the league that has the better record the edge of playing the seventh game of the World Series at home, and it would probably be a better way to make the determination.

There would probably be criticism of that solution, just as there is of the current one. But the critics often fail to bring up the fact that it was a nonissue prior to assigning the winning league the advantage of playing a potential four games at home in the World Series.

The American and National League simply alternated home-field advantage every year, and while having the sixth and seventh games at home appears to be a significant advantage, the teams that did not have the advantage won the World Series eight straight years from 1965 through 1972.

Playing for home-field advantage keeps both teams involved. While managers still have to work the majority of players into the All-Star Game, they are compelled to try to win the game for their league.

That may be one of the reasons that the American League has nine relief pitchers on its roster. Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost has had success turning baseball games over to his talented bullpen, and he will try to employ that same philosophy with relievers like Craig Kimbrel of the Boston Red Sox, Andrew Miller of the New York Yankees, Brad Brach of the Baltimore Orioles and Will Harris of the Houston Astros.

The National League has eight starting pitchers, including Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs, Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets, Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins and Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants. The best National League pitcher, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been sidelined by a trip to the disabled list with a bad back.

The American League starting lineup features outfielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, third baseman Manny Machado of the Orioles, second baseman Jose Altuve of the Astros and catcher Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.

Trout is considered by many to be the best all-around player in baseball, and the numbers tend to back him up. He is hitting .323 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI. Machado has played shortstop for the majority of the season, but he is a remarkable fielder at third base and has 19 homers and 53 RBI.

Altuve is making a run at the AL MVP Award with his .350 average and 14 home runs, while Perez has 12 homers and 37 RBI through the first half of the year.

The National League will be heavily dependent on its all-Cubs infield. Anthony Rizzo has belted 20 home runs and driven in 61 runs while compiling a .402 on-base percentage. Kris Bryant may be outdoing Rizzo on the opposite side of the infield at third base. Bryant has already hit 25 homers while driving in 64 runs.

Second baseman Ben Zobrist and shortstop Addison Russell are the other Cubs in the infield, while Buster Posey of the Giants will be behind the plate. Posey has a reputation as one of the game’s best clutch hitters, and he has hammered 11 home runs and knocked in 41 runs while hitting .289.

If the game comes down to the reserves, both teams have plenty of firepower. The American League will depend on Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners, Ian Desmond of the Texas Rangers and reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The National League will look to Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies, power-hitting Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Wil Myers of the host San Diego Padres.

All-Star Weekend will get underway with the All-Star Futures Game Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on MLB Network. The Home Run Derby will be held Monday night at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN, while the All-Star Game will be played Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET and televised on Fox.

All statistics courtesy of MLB.com.

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