Dodgers’ Corey Seager to Participate in the Home Run Derby

Dodgers rookie sensation Corey Seager was named as a reserve on the All-Star team and yesterday it was announced that he will be competing in the Home Run Derby.

It looks like the world will get to see Seager put on a show on Monday night as well as Tuesday. Yesterday following the game reporters announced that Seager agreed to participate in the Home Run Derby that will take place in San Diego at Petco Park on Monday night at 5PM before the All-Star game on Tuesday. JP Hoornstra was the first to break the news on Twitter.

On Tuesday it was announced that Seager was named to his first All-Star team in his first year with a big league club. In the first half he has gone yard 17 times and currently sits in 15th place in the National League with home runs hit. Including the 27 games he played in for the 2015 season, Seager has hit 21 home runs as a big leaguer which is pretty impressive. His entire minor league career Seager was known as the doubles machine and as he has gotten older and grown, he is now turning those doubles into home runs.

The Home Run Derby had some rule changes last season, so assuming it will be the same this year, each league will have four contestants that will battle through three eliminations/rounds to determine the 2016 Home Run Derby champion.

The Dodgers have never been known as good Home Run Derby players. Honestly, before Joc Pederson last year, the club had a really poor history in the event. Pederson made it to the final round as he faced off against home town hero in Cincinnati, Todd Frazier. Pederson put on a show when he faced the veteran and ended up sending 39 total home runs into the stands throughout the three rounds.

While this news is exciting to most, the Home Run Derby tends to be troublesome to a handful of fans. Many believe that the derby can “mess up” a players swing. Pederson following the All-Star break entered a slump last season and it looked like his power was gone, but in my opinion, that had nothing to do with the derby. Seager is not concerned whatsoever about the derby messing anything up. In his post-game interview, Joey Kaufman reported that he said:

"“If it messes up your swing, you can figure it out later.”"

FanGraphs a couple of years ago took a look at the “Home Run Derby Curse” and proved that it was false. Professional ballplayers make adjustments to their swings all the time and in this study, it showed that players just started the year out hot and ended with typical/more normal numbers for the season. If you would like to take a look, that article can be found here.

Seager is not your “typical rookie” so I do not think “messing up his swing” will be a problem. He plays the game with a composure that most people never do. He does not get flustered and he seems to always be calm. He slows the game down with every swing and every play. He will do the same while competing in the derby. Either way it is exciting for the Seager family, Dodgers organization and Dodger fans everywhere to get to see the rookie that has been clutch all season, make on one of his dreams come true in joining the All-Star festivities.