The 2023 Home Run Derby field is slowly coming together. After his captivating performance at Dodger Stadium last summer as a rookie, Julio Rodríguez was an obvious selection to bring his thunderous swing to this year’s Derby, especially after coming up just short against Juan Soto in the finals. He already proved plenty capable of winning the whole thing, and now he’ll have the opportunity to do so in front of his home crowd.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was just announced Thursday, and the Derby is better for it. Though he ultimately lost in the 2019 finals, Vlad Jr. still owns the record for most total homers delivered in a single contest with 91. While his over-the-fence production hasn’t been quite as overwhelming in the first half of this regular season, he’ll be one of the favorites to claim the Derby crown in Seattle.
Mookie Betts isn’t locked in just yet, but he’s publicly committed to participating so long as he’s selected as an All-Star for the seventh time, which appears all but certain for the Dodgers superstar based on his strong polling in the fan voting and deserving first half. Betts has already accomplished just about everything a player could dream of during his illustrious career, but this would be his first Home Run Derby. We can’t wait to see him excel at yet another thing on a diamond.
With five more spots up for grabs, who else should we expect to hear throw their hat into the dinger ring in the days leading up to the festivities in Seattle? More importantly, who do we want to swat some titanic long balls into previously undiscovered corners of T-Mobile Park? I know MLB prefers to have most, if not all Derby participants also be All-Stars, but I’m not too caught up with that distinction. Let’s consider the best Derby field possible — while also being realistic.
I’ll break down the candidates into a few categories (2023 HR total listed in parentheses):
Shohei Ohtani
As with anything else, Ohtani belongs in his own category. He feels like an obvious pick based on, you know, all the homers he’s been hitting, but I highly doubt we’ll see him do it again this year. His showing at Coors Field in 2021 was strong, but he still was ousted in the first round by Soto. While I’m confident Ohtani’s capable of winning a Derby at some point in the future, it feels like he has much bigger fish to fry this year and will stay out of the fray.
The Champs
This is a group of past Derby winners who I would absolutely love to see compete again, though only Soto and Alonso feel like realistic possibilities to get back into the mix this time around. No one loves this event more than two-time winner Alonso, and I have to imagine he’s extra motivated after his failed attempt at a three-peat in L.A. last year. Soto, meanwhile, is the defending champ, but I don’t sense that he’s as committed to making this a part of his annual routine the way Alonso does. I’d love to be wrong, though!
The Veterans
This isn’t every active player who has already competed in a past Derby without winning, but it’s a strong selection of those who have delivered impressive performances in past contests and that I’d be more than happy to watch launch dingers again. The Joc/Vlad Jr. swing-off in Cleveland was one of the great Derby moments of the past decade. With Vlad back in the competition, it’d be great to see Pederson, too, although he seems unlikely to be invited. Olson and Schwarber could easily take aim at the Hit It Here Cafe in the second deck in right field at T-Mobile Park, which would be fun to watch, as well. And don’t sleep on Sánchez: He may feel out of place in this group, but his 2017 performance was tremendous and he’s still got ridiculous pop.
Acuña, of course, would be the biggest get if he is willing to participate for a third time, but it feels less likely that he’d go all-in on the event this year when he has more important things to focus on — namely, winning NL MVP for arguably the best team in baseball.
Wishful Thinking
Sadly, we’ve yet to see this trio compete in the Derby, though each is capable of monumental blasts that few others in our sport can replicate. Concerns about injury risk in the Derby are sometimes overblown, but we spend enough time stressing about Álvarez and Buxton avoiding injuries under normal circumstances that their participation in a Derby feels especially unlikely. As for Trout, he’s long been in LeBron James is never doing the dunk contest territory, and I don’t expect that to change now. That said, Seattle would be an ideal place for him to break out of that mold. It is, by far, the road ballpark he has dominated the most in over his career.
Worthy Challengers
Any of the following sluggers would be welcome additions to the Derby field:
- Rafael Devers (19)
- Bo Bichette (14)
These guys are both on the short list for best active players yet to compete in a Derby. I think Devers would have a ton of fun with it, and hopefully Bichette could do better than the three homers mustered by his dad Dante in the 1993 Home Run Derby (it was a very different format, to be fair).
Boston’s Rafael Devers launches massive home run to even score vs. Miami
The Orioles feel like they deserve some representation, and Santander is the best of several good candidates.
- Christian Walker (16)
- Austin Riley (12)
Riley and Walker each have 52 homers since the beginning of 2022, tied for ninth-most in MLB. They hit dingers. That’s the point of this event.
- Luis Robert Jr. (23)
- Jake Burger (17)
Robert has been on fire lately and will likely be the White Sox’s All-Star representative, but I slightly prefer his teammate for the Derby. Burger’s breakout has been a treat to watch considering the numerous injuries that derailed and delayed his career for years since being a first-round pick back in 2017. Most importantly, he would clearly deliver in the “Big Dude Hit Ball Far” category that the likes of Schwarber or even Justin Bour have fulfilled in years past.
- Teoscar Hernández (14)
- Jarred Kelenic (11)
It’s rare to have teammates competing in the Derby, but not entirely unprecedented. If they wanted to lean into the Seattle vibes, either of these guys could put on a show alongside J-Rod.
This quartet of 25-and-under sluggers have all demonstrated a consistent ability to elevate and celebrate. They’d all be delightful Derby additions.
Speaking of youngsters, If we want to use the Derby to further promote some of the game’s rising stars, look no further than De La Cruz, who has captivated the national audience to a stunning degree in his first month as a big leaguer. Deesha Thosar made the case for De La Cruz’s inclusion last week, and I couldn’t agree more. He might not have the raw homer total, but his power from both sides has the potential to electrify the Derby audience in person and on television like few other players possibly could. I don’t think anyone would complain if he got the invite.
Reds’ Elly De La Cruz leads Ben’s Team of the Week
- Yandy Díaz (12)
- Jose Siri (14)
The Rays’ juggernaut offense has obviously hit its fair share of homers, so there are several strong choices from the lineup. These two would be fun, but probably not quite as fun as one of their teammates …
The Ideal Field of Newcomers
Here are my top picks among players who haven’t competed in the Derby previously to fill out the six remaining spots alongside Rodríguez and Betts.
We’ll start with Arozarena, not just because he’s already reportedly shown interest, but because he is one of the sport’s greatest showmans, a living spectacle who has repeatedly shown an elite ability to entertain a crowd while on a baseball field — and he ain’t too bad at hitting the ball over the fence, either. He’s an easy pick.
Soler has already hit some massive home runs against the world’s best pitchers when the pressure is the highest in the postseason, so I can’t imagine he’d have too much trouble performing well in a competition like this. Watching him fully healthy and providing serious thump to the Marlins‘ offense has been wonderful to see, and he’s earned a spot in the Derby as much as anyone.
The Rangers’ first half — and powerhouse offense in particular — has been remarkable. But as great as superstar Corey Seager is, I have zero interest in watching him in the Derby again. El Bombi, however, knows how to put on a show and is more than qualified to participate in an event like this.
He might not look like your typical slugger, but Carroll packs a serious punch and has been leading the charge for the first-place D-backs since Opening Day. I’m a little wary of how he’d perform in this setting based on previous performances of smaller players like Jose Ramirez and Alex Bregman, but the hometown factor – Carroll is from Seattle – secures Carroll as one of my top picks for the event. Also, I don’t want the field to be all right-handed hitters.
Don’t let the painfully underwhelming Padres season distract from the fact that Tatís has hardly missed a beat despite missing an entire season and returning from multiple surgeries. It’d be wrong to act like he still isn’t one of the most electric players in the sport — and one who is as capable of any player in the league of launching an unfathomable number of homers in a Derby setting. I think he’s probably the least likely of my picks to actually do it this year, but I imagine we’ll see him do it some year in the relatively near future. And I am confident it will be glorious to watch.
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He has covered baseball for his entire adult life, most notably for MLB.com, DAZN and The Ringer. He’s a Mariners fan living in the Eastern Time Zone, which means he loves a good 10 p.m. first pitch. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
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