This year’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby will take place at Globe Life Field on Monday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), and the first player to announce he will be participating in the annual tournament was Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson. Henderson, who trails only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani for the most homers in MLB this season, made the announcement while mic’d up during Baltimore’s Sunday Night Baseball contest against the Rangers on June 30. Seven star sluggers followed Henderson, and the field is now set for the Derby.
The aforementioned Henderson belted 28 home runs in his 2023 AL Rookie of the Year campaign, and he nearly equaled that number in the first half of the ’24 season. He’ll follow teammate Adley Rutschman and make his Derby debut after Rutschman made his first Derby appearance in Seattle last year.
Pete Alonzo of the Mets has participated in each year’s competition since 2019 — outside of 2020 when there were no All-Star Game festivities due to COVID. Alonso won in both 2019 and ‘21 and with a win this year, he would tie Ken Griffey Jr. for the most Derby titles since the competition began in 1985.
Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals, native of Colleyville, Texas, just miles from Arlington, Witt will have a chance to make his Home Run Derby debut in his own backyard. After a breakout 2023 season that saw him produce the first 30/30 campaign in franchise history, Witt has been even better this year, earning his first All-Star nod as a result. Although this will be Witt’s first go in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, he won the High School HR Derby held at Nationals Park in 2018, the summer before he was drafted.
Marcell Ozuna of the Braves is making his Home Run Derby debut. Ozuna has stepped up in a big way for an Atlanta team that lost reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. to a torn ACL and has had a number of key hitters take a step back from 2023. The right-handed slugger reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in 2023 and has a shot to do so again this season.
Jose Ramirez of the Guardians might have his first 40-homer season of his career in play, Ramírez will step into the Home Run Derby spotlight for the second time after participating in 2022. He came up short against Juan Soto in the first round despite hitting 17 home runs.
Adolis Garcia of the Rangers, will aim to become just the fourth player to win the Home Run Derby in his home ballpark, following Ryne Sandberg with the Cubs in 1990, Todd Frazier with the Reds in 2015 and Bryce Harper with the Nationals in 2018. García got his first taste of the Derby a year ago, losing his first-round matchup to the Rays’ Randy Arozarena. He finished the season with 39 homers before hitting eight more — including five in the AL Championship Series — during Texas’ run to a World Series title.
Teoscar Hernandez of the Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani may be getting more attention, but Hernández has been a strong addition to the Dodgers’ lineup in his own right. Hernández, who will be making his Derby debut, has a chance to reach the 30-homer mark for the second time in his career.
Alec Bohm of the Phillies has never been a prolific home run hitter — his career high in a season is 20 – but he definitely has pop. Four of his 11 homers this season have traveled 415 or more feet. Bohm has been a doubles machine so far in 2024, but now he’ll attempt to up his game just for the fun of it.