Bryce Harper vs. Madison Bumgarner
Yup, we’re bringing the “Bumgarner should be in the Home Run Derby” takes from last year and throwing them in the microwave to warm em up for 2017. Given that Bumgarner is on the DL and only just started throwing again a week ago, the chances of this happening are about as great as Lloyd Christmas getting a date with Mary Swanson, but since we’re in the land of fantasy already, why limit ourselves?
I was going to go with Chad Pinder as our last guy in, the wild card so to speak (he has the second longest average true distance according to the ESPN Home Run Tracker, plus he played for my beloved Vermont Lake Monsters in 2013), but once the Giants-Nationals rivalry got amped up to the next level with the Harper-Strickland brawl, this matchup was simply undeniable.
Bumgarner has the bona fides to participate in a home run derby, as he is tied for the second-most home runs of any pitcher in the DH era, with a whopping 16 home runs in just 529 plate appearances. His OPS+ is fifth among pitchers in that time, and he has only improved in recent seasons, with an incredible 14 home runs since the start of the 2014 season.
As for Harper, you don’t need to be sold on him any more. He has 15 homers, a .644 slugging percentage, and an actual lion’s mane attached to his skull – three prerequisites for any great Home Run Derby participant. Plus, if we just use Bumgarner’s teammate connections to have Hunter Strickland act as Harper’s pitcher for the Derby, we could see some real fireworks.
Next: Top pitchers 25 years of age or younger in MLB
There you have it Major League Baseball, your perfect Home Run Derby lineup is set, it’s on you guys now to get them to sign up.