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Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna added his name to the 2024 Home Run Derby field, becoming the fifth player to accept an invitation.
Ozuna joins fellow NL East players Pete Alonso and Alec Bohm in the Derby, along with Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. Those five and three more will square off next Monday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
“See you at the ‼️DERBY‼️” Ozuna wrote on Instagram. “Excited to announce my official participation in the @tmobile Home Run Derby. This is a big moment for me and my family and I’m beyond excited to put on a show for the fans. @braves Country you have been amazing and I promise to continue to give you guys my all in Texas! Expect some BIG FLYS as I continue to embrace this moment and journey with you all.”
Through 88 games played, the 33-year-old Ozuna is fourth in the majors in home runs with 23 so far. That's helped him to a .294 batting average and .944 OPS, good enough for him to earn the third All-Star selection of his career. This will be his first time participating in the Home Run Derby.
“For me, it's amazing to bring my kids to [the All-Star Game] again,” Ozuna said after learning his All-Star fate, per MLB.com's Rick Farlow. “They grew up a little bit and they're big and they've learned about baseball. It's a new experience for them.”
Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez will join Ozuna as Braves to make the 2024 All-Star Game.
Marcell Ozuna is powering through a career year
Ozuna's 23 long balls this year have him on pace to eclipse his career-high of 40 home runs, which he hit last season. According to FanGraphs, his barrel rate (18%) and hard hit rate (54.3%) are both career bests. He's also hitting fewer ground balls than at any point in his career (35.6%).
Ozuna explained, perhaps counterintuitively, that he's been able to enjoy this career year by not focusing on hitting for power.
“It doesn’t happen,” Ozuna told The Athletic of what happens when he tries to hit home runs. “I was too late [with the swing]. I wasn’t working on my mechanics, I was working on [pitch] selection. So now I was guessing. I’d guess, ‘OK, if he’s gonna throw me that, I’m gonna kick your ass,’ and then …”
The tide only turned when he stopped worrying about the so-called big hit.
“I was worried about winning, so I tried to be a hero,” he added. “But if you see the last month, I left a lot of runners on base with less than two outs. Because I tried to drive them all in, instead of one. You should take one, not try for all of them. When you’re trying to get all of them, you get none.”
Despite his jarring power numbers, Ozuna is currently mired in a slump. Over his last 20 games, he is hitting just .183 with a .667 OPS. He has also struck out in almost 30% of his plate appearances in that time.
