The 2023 MLB All-Star Game will be heading to Seattle next week, and one of the biggest events can truly boast a star-studded field.
That event, the Home Run Derby, will feature eight of the best sluggers in the game, and as of Wednesday, six of those spots have been filled.
While reigning champion Juan Soto is not among that group, former champion Pete Alonso is, along with last year’s runner-up Julío Rodriguez.
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Here’s who we know will participate:
1B Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Alonso will be going for his third Home Run Derby crown in Seattle on Monday night, and he’ll look to become the first player in history to win the event three times.
Alonso also won in 2019 at Cleveland’s Progressive Field and in 2021 at Denver’s Coors Field.
MLB
In 77 games this season, Alonso has 25 home runs and 58 RBI’s for the Mets.
OF Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
Arozarena is one of the game’s most popular players, and he will make his Home Run Derby debut on Monday.
In 83 games this season with the Rays, Arozarena has 16 home runs, just four shy of his career high, and has posted a sparkling .396 on-base percentage.
OF Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Betts, preparing for another All-Star Game appearance, will make his first-ever appearance in the Home Run Derby.
In 82 games so far this season, he has 23 home runs and 57 RBI’s. He is currently 12 home runs shy of his career high of 35, which he set last year en route to winning a Silver Slugger Award, the fifth of his big-league career.
1B Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Guerrero has never won the Home Run Derby, but he’s rewritten the record books, hitting 40 home runs in the second round of the 2019 Derby and a total of 91 in that competition.
Even still, he was bested by Alonso in that competition, leaving him to seek revenge in the event.
OF Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
The runner-up in the 2022 Home Run Derby will get his chance for revenge in his home stadium.
His 81 home runs in last year’s Derby were not enough to beat Juan Soto, but Rodríguez is facing an uphill battle to compete this year, as he has just 13 home runs in 343 at-bats so far this season for the Mariners.
C Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
It’s never a bad rookie season when you finish in the top-12 in MVP voting and runner-up in the race for Rookie of the Year, but Rutschman is having a heck of a sophomore campaign too, with 11 home runs and 36 RBI’s for the Orioles.
He will be making his first appearance not just in the Derby, but in the All-Star Game as well.