Home Run Derby
The defending champion
Bryce Harper hasn’t exactly torn it up in his debut season as a Phillie. With just a dozen home runs, he doesn’t even rank among the top 50 in that category.
Beyond that, Harper isn’t picking up the pace. He’s only hit one home run in his last 58 at bats. His overall stats are not compelling. He is carrying a .243 batting average, complementing those dozen home runs with 50 RBIs. His 109 OPS+ to date is above average, but hardly befitting his contract.
But Harper is the defending champion, having out-gunned runner-up Kyle Schwarber in a pulsating final round last season. And since the $1 million prize is new this year — Harper took away a piddling $125,000 for winning last year — it’s only fair that the reigning champion be given a chance to compete for the prize he would have taken away last season, had it existed.
With Yelich, Alonso, Blackmon, Acuna and Harper in the field, we are now down to just three slots. Consider merely the names not yet in: last year’s runner-up, Kyle Schwarber, AL home run leader Edwin Encarnacion, mega star Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman, Javier Baez, and Gotham slugger Gary Sanchez.
Beyond that are the prodigies: Tommy LaStella, Josh Bell, Hunter Renfroe, Jorge Soler, Ketel Marte. And remember, there’s $1 million at stake.