It’s that time of the year when the first half of the baseball season finally comes to a close. After three and a half grueling months, we’ve arrived at the All-Star break. If you didn’t get the honor to represent your team in the All-Star team, then you have a moment of absolute relaxation before the baseball season kicks into overdrive after the short hiatus. Some decide to go on vacation, or some decide to kick back and relax and join the other side of baseball and sit back on your couch and watch greatness unfold during the All-Star break. One way to absorb that is through the Home Run Derby. Of all measurements, the Home Run Derby is something only the true powerhouse difference-makers can make a big difference in.

It’s that time of the year when the first half of the baseball season finally comes to a close. After three and a half grueling months, we’ve made it to the All-Star break. If you didn’t get the honor of representing your team in the All-Star Game, then you’ve got a moment of absolute relaxation before the season kicks into overdrive. Some guys take a quick vacation; others just kick back and relax—maybe even flip to the other side of the game, sit on the couch, and watch greatness unfold.

One way to absorb all that the break has to offer is through the Home Run Derby. Of all the ways to measure impact, the Derby is something only the true powerhouse difference-makers can leave their mark on. It’s not just about hitting home runs—it’s about putting on a show, rising to the moment, and proving you’ve got the kind of power that turns heads across the league.

The Home Run Derby has been a feature of Major League Baseball since 1985, when Dave Parker became the first player to take home the Derby award. Fast forward 40 years, and the event is one of the most premier of the entire 162-game season. Although many say it has ruined players’ swings after they’ve participated in the Derby, that doesn’t stop many greats from taking a swing at one of the most lucrative events in the game. Stars like Yoenis Cespedes, Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, Juan Soto, and Ken Griffey Jr. are a few examples of when power hitters collide and prove to the world they are the best home run hitters in the game. Many ended up winning; others stayed dedicated in the race for years to come—but for the majority, the Derby proves they simply don’t have what it takes to hang with the game’s true sluggers.

As for this year’s class, we have an interesting group of eight of the fiercest players in today’s game—ready and hungry to make some serious noise in the Derby. The eight players participating in the Derby this year are listed below, ranked from most to least home runs.

1. C Cal Raleigh (Mariners) – 38 HR *all time high*
2. LF James Wood (Nationals) – 24 HR *all time high*
3. 3B Junior Caminero (Rays) – 23 HR *all time high*
4. CF Byron Buxton (Twins) – 21 HR *28 hr all time high*
5. DH Brent Rooker (Athletics) – 20 HR *39 hr all time high*
6. 1B Matt Olson (Braves) – 17 HR *54 hr all time high*
7. 2B Jazz Chisholm (Yankees) – 17 HR *24 hr all time high*
8. CF Oneil Cruz (Pirates) – 16 HR *21 all time high*

Of all eight sluggers participating in the Derby, Cal Raleigh has the best chance to become the 2025 Derby champion. This is only the second time in baseball history that five players have hit over 30 home runs before the All-Star break. The last time this feat happened was back in 1998, when the league was dominated by Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Vaughn, and Belle. Now, the league is dominated by heavy hitters Aaron Judge, Eugenio Suárez, Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani, and Cal Raleigh—yet only Raleigh will be hitting in tomorrow’s event. Cal Raleigh is also one home run away from tying Barry Bonds’ record for most homers before the All-Star break. He sits comfortably at the top of the MLB leaderboard with 38 homers and needs just one more to reach Bonds.

For the class of 2025, it is slightly weak, with guys like Jazz Chisholm and Oneil Cruz who have no part in such an instrumental event for power-hitter sluggers. However, even though Oneil Cruz may not seem like the most appealing player based on surface-level stats, he knows how to hit the ball harder than ever and is always in the top five in exit velocity for hard-hit rate. Oneil Cruz recently hit the hardest-hit ball in the Statcast era (since 2015) with a home run that registered 122.9 mph off the bat. Oneil does stand a chance in the Derby, but I believe there were many other candidates to choose from that could have had a wider impact on total domination.

The All-Star Game will be held in Atlanta at the Braves’ stadium, and because of that, the Braves feature one of their best to represent the city. Matt Olson replaced Ronald Acuña in the Derby race due to back tightness, and he looks to put on a show for the hometown faithful. Even though it isn’t an Acuña Derby, Olson has still been a scary power threat for the league. Since 2016, Matt Olson ranks fifth in home runs, behind Aaron Judge and Mike Trout. I think Matt Olson will have a definite home-field advantage, as more than half of his 54 home runs in the 2023 season came at Truist Park.

I think the players that are not getting the recognition they deserve as some of the best are Brent Rooker and James Wood. James Wood recently tied Bryce Harper and Juan Soto for most home runs in a player’s first 162 games as a National—and he did this in just 158 games. I think Wood has the purest power out of all the competitors and believe he has the absolute best shot to win the entire Derby. Brent Rooker is an underrated star who needs more flowers, and as a damn good player, he truly deserves to be in the Derby.

After being DFA’d, cut, and traded by multiple teams, he persevered and earned himself two consecutive All-Star nods while hitting almost 40 last year with well over 100 RBIs. I do not think he will make it that far—especially since his home ballpark gives him plenty of advantages, with it being a minor league park—but I do believe he will put on a good show.

The prediction for the HR Derby is James Wood