The field is set for the Home Run Derby. Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. became the final player to join the eight-man competition tonight. The Derby will take place on Monday evening at Atlanta’s Truist Park. The group:
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
- Byron Buxton, Twins
- Junior Caminero, Rays
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees
- Oneil Cruz, Pirates
- Cal Raleigh, Mariners
- Brent Rooker, Athletics
- James Wood, Nationals
Raleigh is MLB’s home run leader with 36. He is well on track to surpass Salvador Perez’s record of 48 homers by a catcher. There’s a good chance Raleigh will become the first backstop in league history to hit 50. Wood, Caminero and Buxton have all reached the 20-homer mark, while Rooker is one away.
Chisholm has 17 longballs despite losing a month to injury, while Acuña has connected on 11 since returning from an ACL tear in late May. Cruz, who has 16 homers in 82 games, arguably has more raw power than anyone else. His 122.9 MPH home run off Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson in May was the hardest-hit ball since Statcast began tracking a decade ago. Cruz has accounted for five of the top seven exit velocities in MLB this season.
Acuña, who’ll be playing at his home park, is appearing in the event for the third time. The other seven contestants are making their first Derby appearances. Last year’s champion, Teoscar Hernández, elected not to participate because he did not want to stress his legs after spending a couple weeks on the injured list in May with a left groin strain (link via Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register). Buxton is a Georgia native who’ll play in his home state. Raleigh, Caminero and Acuña will all be in the starting lineup for the following night’s All-Star Game. Wood, Rooker, Chisholm and Buxton made the All-Star teams as reserves.
