Texas Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia will be competing in this year's Home Run Derby, he announced on Wednesday.
With the Rangers hosting all of the All-Star festivities, Garcia will be swinging in front of his own fans and will likely have a significant home-field advantage at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Garcia will be participating in the Home Run Derby for the second straight year. During last year's event, he hit 17 home runs in the first round was knocked out by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who hit 24. Garcia's 17 home runs were the second-fewest in last year's first round, only more than Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts who hit 11.
The rest of this year's field was confirmed Wednesday evening with Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez's inclusion. Joining Garcia and Hernandez are New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
Garcia is the only non-All-Star to be competing in the event.
Two Rangers have previously won the Home Run Derby: Ruben Sierra was the co-winner alongside Cincinnati Reds outfielder Eric Davis in 1989 and Juan Gonzalez won in 1993.
However, despite not winning the Derby, the most notable Rangers' performance has to be Josh Hamilton's legendary 2008 performance where he hit a then-record 28 home runs in the first round before losing to Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau in the final round 5-3.
This year's Home Run Derby will look a little different than last year's. Instead of each round being a head-to-head knockout style matchup, the first round will be un-seeded and the top four finishers will advance and then be seeded 1-4 for the semifinal, where No. 1 will face No. 4 and No. 2 will face No. 3.
Can Adolis Garcia win the 2024 Home Run Derby?
Garcia was one of the best players in the league last season as he helped lead the Rangers to a World Series title. He slashed .245/.328/.508 with 39 home runs and 107 RBI while being named an All-Star and winning a Gold Glove for his defense in right field.
Garcia also had one of the biggest hits of the season when he crushed a walk-off home run in the 11th inning in Game 1 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, helping set the tone for their eventual championship.
Despite taking a small step back production-wise so far this season compared to last season, Garcia is still one of baseball's premier power hitters. He's slashing .215/.279/.417 with 17 home runs and 45 RBI so far.
Other than Alonso, who won the event in 2019 and 2021, and Ramirez, Garcia is the only participant with any Home Run Derby experience. Even though he hasn't look like himself all of this season he still has as much power and hits the ball as hard as anyone in the sport. Garcia's 116.1 max exit velocity is in the top 2% of all hitters, and if he catches fire and is able to ride the momentum of the home crowd, Garcia could be the hitter to beat.
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