The guy who broke that scoreboard with a baseball is in the Home Run Derby this year.
2014 National League Home Run Derby participants: All eyes on Giancarlo Stanton
Everyone is expecting big things from Stanton, but some of the other sluggers in the NL could put on a show as well.
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That's really all you need to know if you're debating whether or not to tune in. If you can't stand another Chris Berman bark session, why not Spotify a little Bach or Rachmaninoff while you watch Stanton consign leather to the darkened bliss of the evening sky? Or just mute it. Whatever. Don't let your auditory biases prevent you from seeing Giancarlo Stanton do what he was put on this earth to do.
Anyway, Troy Tulowitzki has assembled a stout lineup for the National League. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see a few of these guys make it to the end, but since Stanton is in the Derby, he's got to be the favorite.
Giancarlo Stanton
This season, Stanton has rounded out his game. He has the most stolen bases and the highest on-base percentage of his career so far in 2014, but he hasn’t lost what makes him Giancarlo Stanton. He already has an NL-leading 21 homers this year, but his batting practice dingers don’t count in the game. On Monday, that’s all anyone will be counting. It could be something special.
Troy Tulowitzki
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Tulo is tied with Stanton at 21 home runs. He's put together one of the best half-seasons of baseball in the last decade, maybe longer. A lot of that comes from the power he's exhibited -- he's still slugging .613 -- but he has been an all-around monster for the Rockies.
Will he flip his bat every time he hits a homer? Because that might take a while if he has to go chasing after it every time he hits one that looks like it’s headed for the seats. Maybe they’ll get him a sort of bat Pez dispenser so he can keep a steady groove going. All jokes aside, Puig is almost certainly going to put on a show. He’s one of the most exciting players in the game, and even if he somehow manages not to hit a single homer in the Derby, he’ll be fun to watch.
Frazier is something of a dark horse in this competition. If you’ve ever watched him hit, you know he can slug just as well as some of the other guys in the mix. He kind of slips through the cracks with marquee names surrounding him in the NL Central, but don’t be surprised if he’s able to elicit a few hundred “BACK!“s out of Berman.
Morneau was probably the easiest choice for Tulowitzki, even though it might not seem like it. First of all, they're teammates in Colorado, so he had the inside track at the gig from the beginning. However, he also has strong roots in Minnesota, having played the first 11 years of his career there -- including a 2006 MVP campaign. He's no stranger to the Derby. In fact, he won it in 2008. That was the year Josh Hamilton hit about 60 homers in a row, but he got tired toward the end and Morneau pounced on the trophy. It should be a pleasant sight to watch Morneau return to Minnesota and put on a show for the fans.
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