Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. 2025 Home Run Derby:
All-Star week is officially underway, and with it comes the return of an All-Star week staple: the Home Run Derby. Eight sluggers will battle it out for the $1MM prize, and this year’s participants are Byron Buxton of the Twins, Junior Caminero of the Rays, Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees, Oneil Cruz of the Pirates, Matt Olson of the Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Mariners, Brent Rooker of the Athletics, and James Wood of the Nationals. The event is scheduled to begin at 8pm ET this evening, and will air on ESPN. Of this crop of contestants, only Olson has participated previously; he was eliminated in the first round back in 2021 while representing the A’s. It’s hard to view anyone other than catcher Cal Raleigh as the favorite headed into today’s event given his MLB-leading 38 homers this year. If he can take home the trophy, he’ll be the first catcher to do so in the event’s history and the first Mariners representative to win the Derby since Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.
2. MLB Draft Day 2:
Yesterday, MLB held the first three rounds of the 2025 draft. Eli Willits was drafted first overall by the Nationals, while consensus top talent Ethan Holliday went fourth overall to the Rockies. The full results of the first round can be found here. Now, the attention of teams will turn towards the later rounds of the draft. Rounds 4 through 20 are scheduled to take place today as teams around the league wrap up the draft, with Round 4 slated to begin at 11:30am ET this morning. A handful of top talents fall outside of the first few rounds every year, and that’s once again the case this season. A look at MLB Pipeline’s Draft Tracker reveals three top-50 talents in the draft have not yet been chosen: Oregon outfielder Mason Neville, Lincoln-Way East HS southpaw Jack Bauer, and Memorial HS right-hander Matthew Fisher.
3. Rodriguez to see doctor about ailing elbow:
Rays right-hander Manuel Rodriguez was pulled off his rehab assignment on Friday after experiencing some soreness in his elbow in conjunction with unusually low velocity. Rodriguez, who saw an alarming drop to just 91.2 mph during his latest outing after averaging 96.9 mph throughout the year, will be further evaluated today. The 28-year-old was a key piece of the Rays’ bullpen this year prior to his injury, with a 2.08 ERA and 2.98 FIP in 31 appearances. The Rays acquired Bryan Baker from the Orioles last week in hopes of bolstering their relief corps, though his team debut did not go well (three runs in one inning). A notable absence for Rodriguez could spur Tampa Bay’s front office to further address the bullpen.
Source link
