{"id":103837,"date":"2025-07-10T15:18:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=103837"},"modified":"2025-07-10T15:18:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:18:02","slug":"athletics-slugger-home-run-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/07\/10\/athletics-slugger-home-run-derby\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletics Slugger Joins Star-Studded 2025 Home Run Derby Field"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brent Rooker, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/07\/athletics-home-run-pitching-problem\/\" target=\"_self\">Athletics<\/a> slugger, announced on Instagram Thursday that he\u2019ll compete in the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby. This year\u2019s contest and All-Star game will take place at Truist Park, Home of the Atlanta Braves. The 30-year-old, a two-time All-Star, strengthens an electrifying eight-player field for the MLB All-Star Week event, airing live on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET on July 14. MLB.com confirmed Rooker\u2019s entry, leaving one last spot open in a competition showcasing baseball\u2019s top power hitters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Brent Rooker announced on Instagram he\u2019ll participate in the <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TMobile?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TMobile<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HRDerby?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HRDerby<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>The <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Athletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Athletics<\/a> slugger is on pace for his third straight 30+ HR season. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7ZddQjMQp1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/7ZddQjMQp1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB (@MLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1943346109151064289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><b>\u00a0Rooker\u2019s Power Surge<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rooker, on pace for a third straight 30-homer season, boasts a .270 average, 19 homers, 42 RBIs, and a .362 wOBA through 82 games in 2025. After early career stops with the Twins, Padres, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/24\/war-tells-us-royals-largely-failing\/\" target=\"_self\">Royals<\/a>, the 30-year-old found stardom with the Athletics, earning a 2024 Silver Slugger and signing a five-year, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/07\/athletics-brent-rooker-contract-extension\/\" target=\"_self\">$60 million extension<\/a> in February 2025. His 91.5 mph average exit velocity (92nd percentile) and 14.3% barrel rate (93rd percentile), according to Baseball Savant, highlight his elite power, with a maximum exit velocity of 116.7 mph on a 452-foot home run against the Angels on June 15. Rooker\u2019s improved plate discipline enhances his Derby fit, where timing and contact are key. \u201cIt\u2019s a fun time,\u201d he told MLB.com before his announcement. \u201cI\u2019d love to do it and show what I can do in Atlanta.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Brent Rooker slugs his 19th home run of the season \ud83d\ude80 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gUdJFtGJo3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/gUdJFtGJo3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB (@MLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1942770542140088566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>Loaded Derby Lineup<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, Rooker joins Atlanta\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/17\/ronald-acuna-jr-nl-player-week-june\/\" target=\"_self\">Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/a>, Seattle\u2019s Cal Raleigh, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/07\/06\/nationals-fire-manager-davey-martinez-gm-mike-rizzo\/\" target=\"_self\">Washington\u2019s<\/a> James Wood, Pittsburgh\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/07\/08\/pirates-oneil-cruz-fifth-participant-home-run-derby\/\" target=\"_self\">Oniel Cruz<\/a>, Minnesota\u2019s Byron Buxton, and Tampa Bay\u2019s Junior Caminero. Acu\u00f1a, a hometown favorite, hit a 467-foot homer this year. Raleigh leads MLB with 36 homers. Cruz owns a 122.9 mph blast, the hardest hit ball in Statcast history, while Caminero projects 40 homers. Buxton and Wood add 20 and 24 homers, respectively. Although Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Pete Alonso opted out, per Yahoo Sports, the field\u2019s star power shines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Some stats on Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.&#8217;s home run:<\/p>\n<p>115.5 MPH off the bat<br \/>\n467 feet<br \/>\n1 EPIC moment <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/37sciD7eFl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/37sciD7eFl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB (@MLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1926061794851717174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><b>High-Octane Showdown<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This lineup dazzles with elite stats: Oniel Cruz\u2019s 100th-percentile bat speed and Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.\u2019s 94th-percentile barrel rate shine. Cal Raleigh\u2019s 90th-percentile bat speed and 36 MLB-leading homers add power. James Wood\u2019s .939 OPS and Junior Caminero\u2019s 40-homer pace bring youthful excitement, while Byron Buxton\u2019s 94th-percentile hard-hit% fuels his 20 homers. The 2025 format demands stamina and precision, perfectly suiting Brent Rooker\u2019s 91.5 mph exit velocity. Speculation swirls around Matt Olson for the final spot, per MLB Trade Rumors. Fans await the last name for this explosive Atlanta showdown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credits: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brent Rooker, Athletics slugger, announced on Instagram Thursday that he\u2019ll compete in the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby. This year\u2019s contest and All-Star game will take place at Truist Park, Home of the Atlanta Braves. The 30-year-old, a two-time All-Star, strengthens an electrifying eight-player field for the MLB All-Star Week event, airing live on ESPN [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5310,"featured_media":103884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1071,35],"tags":[3942,2060,29049,1982],"class_list":["post-103837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-mlb","category-news","tag-brent-rooker","tag-cal-raleigh","tag-oniel-cruz","tag-ronald-acuna-jr"],"modified_by":"Evan Mazza, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103837"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103886,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103837\/revisions\/103886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}