Houston Astros: Alex Bregman is American League’s Derby hope
By Kyle Cardoza
While the American League possesses multiple primetime sluggers, none of them wished to participate in this year’s Home Run Derby. Therefore, it’s up to Astros third baseman Alex Bregman to bring home the crown for the AL.
The American League has plenty of sluggers, several of which have more than 20 home runs. Yet, none chose to participate in this year’s Home Run Derby. Thus, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman has to shoulder the load.
That’s because he’s the lone AL representative in the Monday slugging showdown. This is the first Derby ever in which one league had just one player.
Houston’s rising infielder ranks 13th in the AL in home runs, showing how deep the committee had to go to find an interested player. But regular season numbers don’t mean too much in the Derby.
Nevertheless, the Astros infielder is deserving of the honor. He’s crushed 19 homers up to date, 14 of which came since June 1. If hitters on a torrid stretch had a greater chance of claiming the crown, Bregman would be a clear favorite.
Of course, that’s not how the competition plays out most years.
Bregman has a reasonable draw against Kyle Scwarber, who has 17 homers while platooning for Chicago. Both have taken relatively large steps forward as overall players.
However, Houston’s hot corner specialist has hit well throughout the past few months. And he put in good hacks against the Athletics on Tuesday, crushing two home runs in the victory
On the other hand, Schwarber struggled to make contact across June, but he managed to smack six bombs during the month. He also averages more distance in his homers than Bregman.
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But Nationals Park doesn’t offer an advantage to either of the two hitters, though the left-center field fence is a tad more shallow than in right-center. Yet, it is unsure whether that will make a difference in the opening round.
Compared to the rest of the group, the Astros hitter seems undersized and overmatched. If he makes it past Schwarber, he would square off against Rhys Hoskins or Jesus Aguilar. Both are hard-hitting first baseman with loads of power.
But Bregman shouldn’t be worried about playing the role of underdog. And surely Houston fans are aware that he can prevail.
If the Astros player takes down the other National League contenders, he would make history. No other AL third baseman completed the feat in the past.
Next: Bregman has had the breakout of the season
And if Bregman can win the title, he would add just another footnote to his spectacular season.