8 Players Who Would Make An Amusing Home Run Derby
We look at eight MLB players who don't necessarily mash homers on the regular, but would nevertheless make a memorable Home Run Derby slate.
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . The first year of the Home Run Derby was in 1985 at the Metrodome during that year’s All-Star festivities, but it wasn’t televised. From 1993-97, ESPN televised the Derby on a delay, and then finally in 1998 it was first broadcast live, conveniently at the homer-happy Coors Field.
. . . Ken Griffey Jr. is the only player to win three Home Run Derby crowns, emerging victorious in the 1994, 1998, and 1999 contests.
Leading Off
The Anti-Home Run Derby: 8 Players I’d Love To See Battle It Out
By Elizabeth Muratore
The field for the 2023 Home Run Derby has nearly been set, and it contains both familiar faces and up-and-coming stars. So far, six Major Leaguers have committed to competing in the Derby, which will take place on Monday July 10: Julio Rodríguez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Pete Alonso, Randy Arozarena, Adley Rutschman, and Mookie Betts. While they have varying numbers of home runs in 2023, all have prodigious power and can put on a show with one swing of the bat, which is what the Home Run Derby is all about.
But what about a Home Run Derby with players who aren’t known for hitting homers? Players who are otherwise successful big leaguers, but haven’t made a name for themselves in the power department? I’ve always wondered what would happen if the Home Run Derby involved players who average in the single digits in homers per year. Would they magically transform into sluggers for one night? Or would their instincts take over and translate into solidly struck line drives that don’t even come close to clearing the fence?
Here are eight current MLB players who are decidedly not known for their power that I think would make for an entertaining Home Run Derby.
Luis Arraez
If you haven’t heard about Arraez’s 2023 season by now, let me be the first to tell you: he’s hitting close to .400 halfway through the season, and no one has hit .400 in a full MLB season since Ted Williams in 1941. He’s also doing this with virtually no power, having hit just three home runs. Power has never been the name of Arraez’s game -- he has just 17 career long balls in five MLB seasons, and his longest career homer traveled 403 feet. However, he’s such a prolific hitter that I think he’d rise to the occasion if he entered into the Derby.
Steven Kwan
Kwan, like Arraez, has made his name in the contact–hitting game. He hit .298 for the Cleveland Guardians in his rookie season in 2022, struck out just 60 times in 147 games, and finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Kwan’s overall offensive numbers are down in 2023, though he’s on a better doubles pace this year (19 in 82 games) than last season (25). He has just eight career home runs though, which is enough to convince me that he isn’t a natural power hitter. He’s also not a big guy -- Kwan stands at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. That’s the type of frame we need represented in the Derby more often.
LaMonte Wade Jr.
The man who earned the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” for his late-game heroics in 2021 has largely flown under the radar since then, though he’s off to a good start in 2023. Now serving mostly as the San Francisco Giants’ everyday first baseman, Wade has nine home runs so far this season. Nothing to sneeze at, for sure, but the one that sticks out is a 474-foot blast he crushed on April 29 against the San Diego Padres’ Joe Musgrove. It’s the third-longest home run by anyone in the Majors this year. If he’s capable of hitting a ball 474 feet, he’s capable of putting on a show in the Derby.
Brett Phillips
Sadly, Phillips is not in the Majors at the moment -- the Los Angeles Angels designated him for assignment on May 20, and he’s currently playing for their Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees. He only has one home run for them, and zero homers for the Angels, but he’s hit several in his career over 420 feet, so the power is in there somewhere. Phillips may not have the power pedigree to be invited to a Derby, but he certainly has the showmanship to make it fun, which is what the Derby really should be all about anyway.
Daniel Vogelbach
It’s not that Vogelbach CAN’T hit homers -- he has 72 for his career. It’s that for a player of his build, you’d think that he’d hit more of them. In 115 games for the New York Mets since he was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, he has 11 home runs, which is roughly a 15 home run pace over 162 games. Vogelbach does have a 30-homer season to his name, which came back in 2019 with the Seattle Mariners, so if he could tap back into that consistent power potential, I feel like he would be a fun Derby entrant.
Vinnie Pasquantino
Pasquantino has made a name for himself by being extremely Italian for the Kansas City Royals. On the field, he has 19 home runs in 133 career games, including a 432-foot bomb last year, so he’s definitely capable of mashing dingers out of the park. Plus, he’s fun off the field and active on social media. He may not be a household name, but I think Royals fans and Chronically Online baseball fans would get a kick out of Pasquantino entering the Derby.
Travis Jankowski
The Home Run Derby has traditionally shut out speedy backup outfielders, mostly because, well, they don’t hit many homers. Jankowski is no exception -- he’s been in the Majors since 2015 and has just 10 career home runs, which averages out to approximately one per season. He may have already exceeded his 2023 quota by belting a three-run homer against the Houston Astros on Monday, but even if he hits 10 more dingers this year, he’s not a power hitter. That’s exactly why he should compete in the Derby.
Myles Straw
The reason Straw is on this list: he’s the only qualified hitter in MLB without a single home run in 2023. In 81 games for the Guardians, not a single ball off his bat has left the yard. Last year, Straw was also the only qualified hitter in the Majors without a home run -- 152 games for Cleveland in 2022, and not a single long ball. You have to go all the way back to Aug. 26, 2021, for Straw’s last homer. I think we as a society owe it to him to put him in the Derby, just to see if the drought can be broken.
Honorable mentions: Evan Longoria (every good Home Run Derby needs at least one Old Guy Who’s Still Got It), Franmil Reyes (10 career homers over 450 feet), an all-backup catcher Derby (come on, who wouldn’t watch this?)
Elizabeth Muratore is one of the editors of the Here’s the Pitch newsletter. She also works as a homepage editor for MLB and co-hosts a Mets podcast called Cohen’s Corner. Elizabeth is a lifelong Mets fan who thinks that Keith Hernandez should be in the Hall of Fame. You can follow her on Twitter @nymfan97.