It's not a proper Home Run Derby unless a hometown player is involved, and on Friday we learned who this year's crowd favorite will be.
The 2023 Home Run Derby is scheduled for July 10 as part of this year's All-Star festivities in and around Seattle's T-Mobile Park. The first to announce his participation in the latest edition of the Derby is Mariners young star outfielder Julio Rodríguez. Rodríguez himself broke the news on social media:
The 22-year-old Rodríguez hasn't quite lived up to expectations this season, but he's still a tremendously popular player, especially in Seattle, with loads of long-term promise. He's also not far removed from a highly productive rookie season in 2022 in which he played a central role in helping the M's break their long postseason drought.
As for his Derby outlook, Rodríguez in his brief MLB career has cracked 40 home runs in 805 at-bats, and the majority have come at home. Even during the somewhat disappointing present season, he's still hitting the ball exceptionally hard. Suffice it say, Rodríguez has the skills to make this Home Run Derby a successful and memorable one. That's especially the case given that Rodríguez competed in last year's Derby and advanced all the way to the finals -- knocking out recent Derby legend Pete Alonso in the process -- before losing by a single homer to champ Juan Soto. In the three-minute first round last year, Rodríguez hit 32 home runs, which was the highest single-round total in 2022. Next in line was Rodríguez's 31 home runs in the second round.
It remains to be seen how the rest of the eight-slugger field will be populated (though our Matt Snyder has some ideas), but a Soto-Rodríguez rematch is certainly something to hope for. Whatever the specifics, it's hard to think of a more ideal hometown hero for the 2023 Home Run Derby than the telegenic and engaging Rodríguez.
