The official lineup and bracket is up! The showdown takes place on ESPN at 8 pm ET at Petco Park in San Diego! Below is a reference for the dimensions of the park and it's up to you to decide whether or not each player will do well in this pitcher's park. And the contestants are....Mark TrumboTrumbo isn't a newbie to this game; this is his second appearance in the derby and second All Star selection (2012). In his rookie season (2011) with the Angels, he hit 29 home runs and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. If he hit 3 before the All Star break, he would surpass his rookie season easily. His most, however, came from 2013 when he hit 34 home runs. Can he top that? Maybe! He's definitely a front runner in this event because he leads the entire major league with 26 home runs. Trumbo, or Trumbomb, can definitely handle his own in this contest. According to hittrackeronline.com, his longest shot of the season was 456 ft on 6/04/16 and longest career was 475 ft vs. on 4/29/13 with Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. We're definitely excited to see what he does at Petco because he's mostly played in the American League but he did spend time with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014-2015. He has some experience here and hopefully he'll find the right stroke to win it all. Vs.Corey SeagerNow Seager IS a newbie to this game, in fact he's the only rookie here! He leads his team with 17 home runs and his longest so far is 435 ft (hittrackeronline.com). Seager has experience playing at Petco but he has never hit one out of there. Hopefully his day will come at the derby and he will show the more experienced players that he came to play. Despite being a rookie, he proves himself to be wiser than his years with his amazing swing. Very few are able to perfect such a thing but he does it so naturally. His swing can carry him far in this event and he will make the other players remember his name if he does well. It would be pretty big if he won this event only because he's the rookie and hasn't hit as many as the rest, but don't underestimate him. Robinson CanóDon't ya know? The winner of the 2011 Home Run Derby is back once again for the fourth time! This year he's hit 20 home runs, which is 1 less than his total last season. His longest home runs are 432 ft this season and 451 ft in 2009 and 2011 (hittrackeronline.com). His career total (so far) is 258 home runs, which is a high total for a 2nd baseman in their first 12 years. Only one man so far has won the Derby for the Mariners and that is legend Ken Griffey Jr. (1994, 1998, 1999). Will he win it for Seattle this time? Vs.Giancarlo StantonThe major problem with Canó winning this year is that there's a major roadblock- named Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is another heavy hitter in the competition because he's known to hit them OUT and by out we mean his average distance this year is 421.8 ft and his career longest is 494 ft. He may have 1 less than Canó right now but we all know that Stanton is not to be ignored in this contest. This isn't his first rodeo so he knows how to fix what he didn't do in 2014 and his bat is waking up right now. This first round match up will be one to watch. Adam DuvallFirst All Star Game for Duvall and he finds himself at the Derby. Duvall is relatively new to all this because he's only had over 55 games of major league experience. He's proven this year that he belongs to be an All Star with 22 home runs in his breakout season and being the only representative for the Reds. His longest career distance and season best is 437 ft and his average distance is 400.4 ft. Remember that the Reds were the host last year and they also won the Derby with Todd Frazier. Will Frazier pass the torch to Duvall and Cincinnati? Will the two meet up in the next round? We'll see! Vs.Wil MyersThe home team hero! Myers is also the sole representative for his team but he has an edge because his team is the host this year. Myers will definitely have great support from the fans so that will help him stay confident in this event. Myers has been on fire lately with 19 home runs and was named NL Player of the Month this past June. His farthest for the season and career is 454 ft and his average is 405.3 ft. His farthest at Petco is 442 ft from 2015. Myers can win because he knows this park more than his competitors and he has the motivation of his home crowd there. Todd FrazierThe Toddfather Part III is here after the successful sequel last year! Frazier is hoping to win back to back titles and will represent a new club this year. His 23 home runs are a good start to his season and puts him in a nice seed. He also has hit home runs at Petco and his farthest is 413 ft. His longest overall is 470 ft in 2013 against... the Chicago White Sox. Frazier could repeat as champion this year because he can hit in this park and he knows the system very well. Vs.Carlos GonzalezSuper CarGo may have the second least home runs (18) but he also has the experience by playing in the NL West. Gonzalez also participated back in 2012 so he knows what he's doing.
He probably won't be rusty because he's hit one out at 469 ft, which is one of the longest of the season by any player. His longest this year at Petco was 438 ft which over the average distance of home runs hit there, 397.7 ft. CarGo is ready to try once again and win this Derby at a park he knows well. Leave a Reply. |
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