Orioles third baseman Manny Machado didn't advance out of the first round of the Major League All-Star Game Home Run Derby, but the O's organization still had a Home Run Derby champion on Monday night.
Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Dariel Alvarez won the Triple-A All-Star Game Home Run Derby in Omaha, Neb., beating Diamondbacks prospect Peter O'Brien in the final round.
Unlike the major league home run derby, which had a bracketed head-to-head three-round format, the finalists for the Triple-A derby were decided by the two highest homer totals through the first two rounds.
After both Alvarez and O'Brien advanced to the final round by hitting 15 homers in the first two rounds, Alvarez defeated O'Brien six homers to five in the finals.
By winning the contest, Alvarez received a Triple-A Home Run Derby championship belt.
Alvarez, who is ranked the Orioles' No. 5 prospect by Baseball America, is considered the organization's top power-hitting prospect. The 26-year-old Alvarez is hitting .284/.308/.443 with 14 homers and 47 RBIs in 89 games for the Tides this season. He also owns the best outfield arm in the Orioles farm system. Despite playing 96 games in center field last season, he projects to be a right fielder in the major leagues.
The Cuban outfielder was signed to an $800,000 bonus in July of 2013, the largest given by the Orioles to an international free-agent signing out of Cuba.