Latest news with #PlatinumGlove-winning
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Home Run Derby 2025 field: Oneil Cruz, Byron Buxton latest players confirmed to compete
The 2025 MLB Home Run Derby will take place on July 14, and the eight-player field is starting to come into view. Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. was the first to commit to the event, to be held at his home park of Truist Field in Atlanta, and he'll be joined by a field of seven of MLB's top power hitters in the crowd-pleasing event. Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz was the latest slugger to join that field on Tuesday, leaving three open spots. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández is the reigning Derby champion after beating Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. in the 2024 final. He does not plan to defend his title this year. Here's every slugger who has been announced to be competing in this year's event. Cruz announced Tuesday that he will take part in the event. The 26-year-old outfielder has the second-lowest home run total of any participant thus far, but might have the best skill set for the event. Cruz is a Statcast darling, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit percentage. He already owns the record for hardest-hit ball on record with his 122.9 mph home run in May. Buxton announced on Instagram that he will enter the field. The 31-year-old Minnesota Twins outfielder has already surpassed his home run totals from the past two seasons and is on pace for a career high. After he takes part in the Derby, he will represent the American League in his second All-Star Game. 'Going back home to do something like this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," the Georgia-born Buxton said. "I know I'm not going to play 30 more years for it to get back to Atlanta, so it's that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that — I talked about it with some close people, guys on the team, friends, family, and everybody got excited. … They didn't want me to pass up the opportunity.' The 6-foot-7 Washington Nationals slugger is having a breakout season, having eclipsed the 20-home-run mark by the end of June. Wood, 22, was a part of the Juan Soto trade that brought a package of young talent to the Nationals from the San Diego Padres. Wood has been such an offensive threat this season that on June 29, the Los Angeles Angels intentionally walked him four times. The last player to receive such an honor from an opponent was Barry Bonds in 2004. MLB's home run leader is a Seattle Mariners catcher nicknamed "The Big Dumper," and he's on pace to blow away every personal best and maybe even challenge the AL home run record if he keeps this up. It's a beautiful sport. With two straight 30-homer seasons and Platinum Glove-winning defense behind the plate, Raleigh was one of the most underrated players in baseball entering this season. By now, even casual baseball fans should know his name, as he's making his case to be considered one of baseball's elite players, if he isn't already there. The Atlanta crowd will have a hometown hero in Acuña, who will likely have the fewest home runs of any player in the Derby field due to the fact that he started his season two months late after returning from a torn ACL, which made him miss much of 2024. Acuña has been on a tear since his return, though, and has 40-homer power when healthy. He became the fifth player in MLB history to post 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a single season before winning MVP in 2023, and the Derby will be a prime chance for him to show a national audience that he's still one of MLB's brightest stars. The Home Run Derby field rarely lines up with the homer leaderboard at the All-Star break, and 2025 will be no exception. As talented as the field is, some of MLB's other top players have turned down the event: Aaron Judge: The reigning AL MVP and three-time home run champion won the event in his rookie year in 2017 and hasn't competed since, saying he won't do it again until the All-Star Game returns to Yankee Stadium. He reiterated that stance earlier this month. Shohei Ohtani: MLB's biggest international star, who competed in the Derby in 2021, said he didn't think it was "feasible" for him to compete due to the format of the Derby. He is also currently stretching himself out as a starting pitcher again, so the event might be too much to add to his plate. Pete Crow-Armstrong: Arguably the breakout star of the 2025 season, PCA has dazzled with his two-way impact, but he told reporters that he has "a different kind of power" than what succeeds in the Derby. Consider him out. Elly De La Cruz: The Cincinnati Reds' star is among the elite of the elite when it comes to exit velocity, but he has so far declined to take part in the Derby, citing potential fatigue the next week when regular-season play resumes. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: The Toronto Blue Jays' $500 million man, who won the event in 2023 and hit the most homers ever in the event in 2019 (91), is a firm no. Teoscar Hernández: The reigning champ will not defend his title, reportedly citing the toll of the competition and the fact that he has already missed time due to injury this year. Kyle Schwarber: The Philadelphia Phillies' outfielder will take part in the All-Star Game but will not join the Derby crowd. 'Maybe see what happens next year," said Schwarber, who is third in the NL with 27 home runs. Pete Alonso: The 30-year-old New York Mets first baseman declined an invite this year, citing the need for rest. The slugger has been a Home Run Derby participant every season it has been held since his rookie year. He's a two-time winner of the event and currently has 20 homers on the season. After a decade of a pure one-on-one tournament format with timed rounds, MLB tweaked the format in 2024. Instead of four matchups in the first round, last year all eight hitters competed to reach the top four, with a limit of 40 pitches across three minutes plus three bonus outs (in which they keep hitting until they fail to hit a homer three times). The hitters were then seeded for the semifinal and final rounds, the latter of which featured two minutes and 27 pitches. It was a complicated format, and it's unclear if MLB will use the same rules this year. The 2025 Home Run Derby will take place in Atlanta at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, July 14, the day after the 2025 MLB Draft and the day before the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. As usual, the event will be televised on ESPN.
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Nastiest pitch in Reds camp, Vol. 6: Nick Martinez and Chase Burns wow their catchers
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — There's a delicate balance in answering the question posed to every Cincinnati Reds catcher. The question, asked near the end of every non-pandemic spring training since 2018: What is the single best pitch you saw in spring training? The question isn't about the single nastiest pitcher in Reds camp but a single offering from a single pitcher. Last year's overwhelming favorite was Fernando Cruz's splitter. The pitch that started this whole exercise? Luis Castillo's sinker (and changeup). Advertisement This year, Reds big-league camp featured five catchers, including two newcomers — Jose Trevino and Will Banfield — and returners Tyler Stephenson (who has been playing this reindeer game since 2019, when he picked Jared Hughes' sinker), Austin Wynns and Michael Trautwein, both of whom said Cruz's splitter a year ago. For the newcomers, the question is difficult because the number of new players and pitches is hard to whittle down. For a veteran like Trevino, narrowing it down to one pick is difficult because a vote from a Platinum Glove-winning catcher is a heck of an endorsement, and it could go a long way in boosting the confidence of a younger player. For Banfield, a 25-year-old who has never played in the big leagues, it's the opposite concern: He doesn't want to leave anyone out or ruffle any feathers among the veterans. 'There are guys everywhere,' Trevino said. 'It's hard to pick — (Nick) Lodolo's slider. Like, I mean, you can go up and down the line (in the clubhouse).' Trevino did that, adding Chase Petty's slider to the list, along with the usual suspects like Lodolo's breaking ball, Hunter Greene's fastball and the like. On the other side, Stephenson has seen Greene's fastball and Lodolo's slider for years. They might still be sexy pitches, but they're now familiar and old news. Still, when pressed, several pitches stood out. Here are the five nastiest pitches in Reds camp, according to the catchers: Some catchers hemmed and hawed over their answers, but Wynns, 34, answered quickly and decisively: 'Nick Martinez's changeup.' Martinez threw his changeup almost as much as his four-seam fastball. Both registered at 22 percent of his pitches last season. He threw 477 four-seamers and 460 changeups. In 2023, Martinez threw the changeup 28.3 percent of the time, more than any other pitch. Advertisement To Wynns, there's a simple reason Martinez throws that pitch as much as any other. 'It's probably one of the best in all of baseball,' Wynns said. 'It's like Bugs Bunny — the way he throws it and the way that it absolutely just drops off. I've never seen any better.' Wynns noted that Martinez's arm doesn't slow on the pitch, which would otherwise tip the batters that the changeup is coming. 'And the speed differential is like 12 mph,' Wynns said, with Martinez's average four-seamer coming in at 92.6 mph and the changeup at 80.1 mph. One thing that doesn't show up on the stat sheet is Martinez's surgical precision with the ball. 'The other day (pitching coach Derek Johnson) said something to him, and I thought it was the best compliment I've ever heard — he called him 'Doc,'' Wynns said. 'Having the reputation where you're called Doc? … The way he moves the ball, mixes speeds, locates.' Martinez threw six pitches last year. He threw four pitches more than his curveball, which Trevino picked as the nastiest pitch in camp. 'Martinez's curveball is pretty wicked,' Trevino said. Martinez threw the pitch 11.9 percent of the time in 2024. Last year, Martinez's curveball dropped an average of 4 inches more than comparable curveballs, but its lack of movement sets it apart. Martinez's horizontal break is just 0.1 inches, 7.9 inches less than comparable pitches. 'It comes out like a straight four-seamer,' Trevino said. 'You don't really see, like, true 12-6 curveballs anymore.' Zach Maxwell's nickname is 'Big Sugar.' Facing him must be anything but sweet. Even if you didn't know him by his reputation for triple-digit fastballs, it's hard to believe the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Maxwell does anything soft. But yes, he can throw 102 mph and was even pumping out 99 mph fastballs in live batting practice last month. That will get anyone's attention. Advertisement Maxwell's fastball certainly caught the eye of Banfield. 'When his fastball is on, he's able to use it to all sides of the plate and be able to elevate it when he wants to,' Banfield said. 'There's not a lot of guys who are going to touch it.' That's exactly what Maxwell did in the Spring Breakout game against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out two to earn the save in a perfect ninth inning. Maxwell recorded pitches of 100 and 101 mph. He even finished with a celebration straight from 'Gladiator,' making the thumbs-down motion to his dugout after ending the game with a strikeout. Maxwell, who might be bigger than his listed height and weight and has worn the same jersey number (79) as Anthony Muñoz did with the Bengals, is as intimidating as any gladiator. 'He's just so big,' Banfield said. 'Even when I'm catching, it feels like he's right on top of me. His just has an extra little gear to it — it'll jump. … He's got everything going on right now.' Burns, the Reds' top pick from last year's MLB Draft, isn't small at 6-3 and 215 pounds. Though he's not as big as Maxwell, he's also a member of the triple-digit club, hitting 102 mph in college. 'The heater is real. It reminds me of Hunter, just the velocity and just how hard it is,' Stephenson said. 'I'm impressed. I think he's got a chance to be pretty dang good, for sure.' Wynns said Burns' fastball 'has a special giddyap,' and Banfield noted Burns' heater 'has got a different gear on it.' Burns' physical gifts are key to his velocity, Stephenson said. Not only is Burns all of 6-3, but he also gets good extension on his pitches. 'I feel like his is super downhill. It's just on you,' Stephenson said. 'He's got good extension just from catching him. I don't know metrically, but I feel like the extension is downhill, and it's coming at you.' Advertisement Burns' slider also got a mention from Trevino: 'It's hard, and it's going where it's going and goes there quick.' It's not exactly news anymore that Greene travels in the fast lane. But it's still pretty impressive — even for someone like Trautwein, who has caught Greene before. 'It's just legit,' Trautwein said. 'It's such a good pitch.' Greene's fastball was legendary in high school, and he has backed up the hype, using the pitch to lead him to his first All-Star selection last season. In 2024, Greene threw the pitch 55.2 percent of the time, averaging 97.6 mph on 1,415 four-seam fastballs. 'He just throws it as hard as can be, so it's hard to hit,' Trautwein said. 'He throws it for strikes, and he locates it well — and it's 102. It's tough to hit.' Trautwein, though, said Greene's 'pretty easy' to catch. 'He's easy to work with, and he has a plan for what he's going to do,' Trautwein said. 'He can locate, and with his stuff, it's pretty fun.' (Top photo of Nick Martinez: Frank Bowen IV/ The Enquirer / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
