Logano’s Phoenix win, title perfectly encapsulated wildly entertaining 2022

Published

3 years ago

November 7, 2022

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12:00 PM ET

The finale of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season wound up being a nearly perfect summation of the imperfect campaign that it had just wrapped up. A most apropos period stamped at the end of a story that had been written since the first green flag was waved over NASCAR’s 74th season, 274 days earlier in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

There was plenty of drama at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. There was controversy. There was good racing. At one point, the Championship 4 were: 1. Leading. 2. Running third. 3. Running in the top 10 despite believing that his engine was blowing up. 4. Fighting to get back onto the lead lap after a run-in with the car that was now running third.

But in the end, not even all of that could quite get out from underneath the cloud of a story that no one saw coming. The latest stanza in a broken record of a theme that has dogged the latter stages of what had been one NASCAR’s most remarkable seasons. Bad news acting like an annoying lapped car that refused to get out of the way.

“I think that this has been one of the craziest years in NASCAR history. It has to be, right? It certainly has been from my perspective,” said Joey Logano, shortly after becoming only the 17th multitime champion of NASCAR’s premier series. “We are definitely going to celebrate. But there is also a lot of work to do this winter. A lot of introspection. There always is, but this winter feels like there’s a lot to be done by everyone in the sport.”

Logano drives for Penske Racing, a team with whom he has now won 29 races and a pair of Cup Series titles. But before he signed with Roger Penske in 2012, he spent his first four full seasons at stock car racing’s highest level as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. He had been anointed as the next Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, famously nicknamed “Sliced Bread,” as in “greater than …” But he was also thrown into the deep end at 18 years old and indeed drowned, labeled by many as a bust after “only” two wins in the same car that Stewart had used to win 33 races and become a legend.

Among his de facto bosses at JGR was Coy Gibbs, son of Joe, the team’s namesake and a Pro Football Hall of Famer who had just wrapped up his second stint as head coach of Washington, with Coy, a former all-star linebacker at Stanford, on his staff. As Logano was moving on in 2013, Coy Gibbs was moving up the ladder at JGR. He eventually ascended to the role of co-chairman, helping to oversee the team that had Logano’s former ride, the No. 20 Toyota, now driven by Christopher Bell, alongside Logano in the Championship 4 at Phoenix on Sunday. On Saturday night, Coy’s son Ty Gibbs won the Xfinity Series title in a JGR machine. Hours later, Coy died in his sleep at the age of 49, the news announced by the team just as prerace ceremonies were beginning.

“What I want to do is say a prayer for Joe Gibbs and the loss he had,” Penske said as he met with the media in the Phoenix Raceway media center, while Logano and the team were still going through the post-title photo dance outside. “That’s more important than a win or a championship.”

It is difficult to recall a NASCAR Cup Series season that began with as much excitement and hope as this one did in February 2022. That historic exhibition race in the L.A. Coliseum generated a wave of positive energy that carried the sport well into summer. That was followed by a Daytona 500 that set the tone for what has been, inarguably, the most top-to-bottom competitive season since NASCAR’s premier series debuted in 1949, with the shocking victory of Penske’s Austin Cindric, a rookie, winning “The Great American Race.”

Cindric was the first of an incredible 19 different winners over 36 races and the first of a remarkable five first-time winners. That parity even managed to crash the postseason, as half of the 10 playoff races were won by drivers who had already been eliminated from title contention.

The catalyst for this level playing field was the so-called Next Gen race car, a product of years of unprecedented cooperation between NASCAR and its three auto manufacturers. It is a one-size-fits-all machine, the closest to an actual “stock car” that NASCAR has fielded in more than 60 years. Next Gen was designed with the hope of cutting costs, narrowing the engineering gap between little teams and superpowers, all while producing entertaining door-to-door racing.

It largely accomplished all of the above, and NASCAR was rewarded with rising TV ratings, ticket sales and that desired parity. Suddenly, second-tier teams such as Trackhouse Racing were title contenders. Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain was the racer chasing Logano to the checkered flag at Phoenix, in the postseason via his win at the Circuit of the Americas road course and the Talladega Superspeedway, vastly different races won in the exact same car.

But as summer gave way to fall, the new machine also began producing concerns about an unforeseen price being paid by the drivers behind the wheel. Veterans such as Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin had voiced safety concerns throughout the year, and Harvick’s scramble from his car as it burst into flames during the Southern 500 at Darlington became a visual flashpoint for the debate. Then a pair of would-be title contenders in Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch had their efforts cut short by concussions, with Busch ultimately stepping away from full-time racing. Racers said that the frame of the car is too stiff to properly protect them during rear impacts. Then they said they were frustrated by NASCAR’s refusal to heed their warnings during the season’s hot start.

In the midst of that very public safety debate, Bubba Wallace received a one-race suspension for a rage-fueled crash of Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the first Cup Series driver parked by NASCAR for an in-race incident in seven years. Not for the fight that came after the accident, but rather for committing the ultimate racing sin: purposely hooking a competitor’s car in the right rear while racing at speed and in traffic.

In the two races that followed, the focus returned to the racing itself and the buzz about the buildup to the Phoenix showdown of Logano, Chase Elliott, Bell and Chastain, who singlehandedly turned the conversation to on-track action when he used a wall-riding video game move at Martinsville Speedway to make the Championship 4 in the final turn of the year’s penultimate race. Even when that turned into a “Should drivers do that?” argument, at least it was a racing-based debate.

For 312 laps, Phoenix provided flashbacks of every chapter of the 2022 NASCAR story. There was the news about Gibbs that deflated every heart in the paddock. The Next Gen machine provided good racing once again, but it also once again sent a racer — Logano’s former teammate Brad Keselowski — scrambling out of a fire after a seemingly run-of-the-mill wreck. When Bowman, in his first race back after five weeks on the sidelines, hit the wall to bring out the race’s final caution, one couldn’t help but pause and worry if he had reaggravated his concussion-like symptoms.

Ultimately, evening arrived with a closing-laps showdown between Logano and Chastain, a future Hall of Famer driving for a superpower team versus an upstart underdog employed by what was supposed to be a second-tier team but has benefited all season from that same new model of car and the parity that came with it. Logano won, cementing his place among the sport’s all-time greats. Now NASCAR hopes that the season as a whole does the same, remembered in the long run more for the amazing competition it produced instead of the bad news that seemed to always be lurking in the rearview mirror throughout fall.

In response to the complaints about communication, NASCAR has held meetings with the drivers as a group throughout the fall. The engineers at NASCAR’s Research & Development Center spent October conducting crash tests on a new rear bumper and rear clip design for Next Gen that will be implemented next season. During his annual “State of the Sport” news conference at Phoenix, NASCAR president Steve Phelps pledged to keep those meetings going and keep the work moving forward.

“I think the communication between the sanctioning body and the drivers over this past five or six weeks has completely shifted the narrative on how the drivers are feeling about the area of safety or ‘race ability,’ whatever it is the concerns are,” Phelps said. “The conversations we’re having with the drivers, you can tell there’s a difference in how the drivers are speaking even to all of you [in the media].”

Can the early-season energy of 2022 be recreated? Can the unpredictability of the 2022 racing results be repeated? Can NASCAR race its way out from the under the specter of bad news all the way until a season’s end?

The Daytona 500 will be here sooner than later. The 2022 title bout is over. Now NASCAR can begin its fight with fixing this car over the offseason.

But first, maybe just a brief pause to catch one’s breath.

“I don’t really care about 2023 right now,” Elliott said following the accident with Chastain that knocked him out of the championship race, and unknowingly speaking for the entire garage. “We had five wins on the season, and we had — you tell me what the stats are. That’s how you would assess it, right? I know we won five races. That’s more than we did last year.

“But do not tell me what the countdown clock [to Daytona] is because I don’t want to know.”

Sports

Final 2025 MLB mock draft: Updated picks just hours before Round 1 begins

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5 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Final 2025 MLB mock draft: Updated picks just hours before Round 1 begins

Kiley McDanielJul 13, 2025, 02:00 PM ET
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- ESPN MLB Insider
- Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency.
- Has worked for three MLB teams.

The 2025 MLB draft begins at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN, so it is time for one final update as teams lock in their Day 1 boards.

The drama starts right at the top this year, as the Washington Nationals have a difficult decision to make with the No. 1 pick a week after firing their general manager.

In a year without a slam-dunk top player, Oklahoma high school star Ethan Holliday (yes, the son of former major leaguer Matt) and a group of college left-handers (LSU’s Kade Anderson, Tennessee’s Liam Doyle and Florida State’s Jamie Arnold) rank among the top prospects in the class.

Which direction will the Nationals go — and how will the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners follow with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks?

Since this is a last-minute update on what teams could do Sunday night, my writeups here are focused on what has changed since the previous edition. You can find a more detailed look at each team’s strategy in my mock draft 3.0. And remember, this is the order in which I think the players will come off the board, while my draft rankings are the order in which I’d pick the players.

Draft tracker: Results, analysis for every Day 1 pick

More coverage: Mock draft 3.0 | Big question for all 30 teams

Watch: Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPN

1. Washington Nationals

Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU
Rank: 1

There have been a lot of rumors flying around over the past few days about what is happening in the wake of the firing of GM Mike Rizzo.

The industry feeling is that what has changed is 1) Anderson is a little more likely to be the pick mostly because Holliday is now a little less likely to be the pick, and 2) taking a bigger cut is a real option, with Eli Willits the main cut-rate possibility, though Aiva Arquette has also been mentioned.

All but Willits are advised by Scott Boras, and he’ll never tip his hand until he has to; now is not the time yet. Nothing is decided here and price will be a factor. If I turned this in 15 minutes before the draft, the Nats might still not have made the decision, so I’ll stick with what seems most likely, even if I don’t feel great about it. Landon Harmon is a rumored later round, overslot target.

For context, a scouting director for a team picking in the top 10 said I shouldn’t feel confident about anything happening in the top three picks specifically, adding, “I’m hearing there’s wars happening in all of those rooms right now” (as of Friday night). I ran that by another director picking up high: “Yeah, we’re hearing the same thing.”

2. Los Angeles Angels

Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee
Rank: 6

I’m going to stick with Doyle because he makes the most sense for what the Angels have proved they’re looking for in recent drafts: a polished, quick-moving college player who will come at a savings.

I’ve heard at least six players seriously connected to this pick in the past few days: Anderson, Doyle, Arnold, Arquette, Ike Irish and Willits. There are a couple more I’ve been told are under consideration who I’m not taking seriously as options here.

It could be any of these players based on final conversations and bonus pricing info on each player coming in at the last minute. Doyle has a real shot to slide to No. 9 or No. 10 if he doesn’t go here, so he is motivated to give a competitive number.

Liam Doyle’s MLB draft profile

Kiley McDaniel explains what makes Tennessee’s Liam Doyle one of the top prospects in this year’s MLB draft.

3. Seattle Mariners

Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona HS (CA)
Rank: 4

The hot rumor of the past few days is that Tyler Bremner will be the pick here at big savings, and that holds up to further analysis because, in style, Bremner and Hernandez (long connected to this pick) are pretty similar.

It’s pretty widely known that Anderson is the No. 1 player for Seattle and will be the pick if he gets here, which still has maybe a 20-30% chance of happening.

If Anderson isn’t here, I think the decision comes down to Bremner at the most savings, Irish at a little less savings or Hernandez at the least savings, broadly speaking. Some sources have said Arquette, Arnold and Kyson Witherspoon are also in play here, but they seem like tertiary options.

I think Bremner having more support in the No. 11-15 area that was reflected in the last mock will raise his price a bit to where Hernandez will be the pick, but this one is also wide open at the moment and will come down to a last-minute bonus price check if Anderson isn’t available.

Ethan Holliday, 3B, Stillwater HS (OK)
Rank: 2

There has been some waffling late in the process from sources who think maybe the Rockies wouldn’t pay the overslot price to get Holliday down here — but much of what I hear very late in the process is wrong or intentional misinformation, so I’ll stick with what I’ve been hearing for a literal year.

I think the other options for Colorado if Holliday doesn’t get here are all college pitchers: Anderson, Arnold and Witherspoon, with Willits and Arquette getting some mentions.

Ethan Holliday’s MLB draft profile

Kiley McDaniel explains what makes Ethan Holliday one of the top prospects in this year’s MLB draft.

Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (OK)
Rank: 3

Willits seems securely in play at the top two picks and possibly at No. 4, so the Cardinals landing him here would be considered a solid outcome. I think Anderson and Holliday are the primary targets for this pick and Willits is next up, with Arnold and Irish as the possible underslot options.

Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
Rank: 5

It sounds like Hernandez or Willits will be the pick if either is here, so the Pirates are rooting for Seattle to either land Anderson or opt for a cheaper alternative to Hernandez.

Otherwise, JoJo Parker, Arnold, Arquette and Irish are believed to be the four leading options here. Arnold has the most late support, but this one might also come down to money.

I hope you feel sympathy for me having to do this in public when none of these teams know what it will do and won’t for hours.

Jamie Arnold’s MLB draft profile

Kiley McDaniel explains what makes Florida State’s Jamie Arnold one of the top prospects in this year’s MLB draft.

JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis HS (MS)
Rank: 7

I think this will come down to Parker, Iris, and Billy Carlson — and I think Parker has the edge.

Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
Rank: 9

I think the Jays will pick Parker if he gets here and will consider Arnold along with Arquette and Irish if they are still available here. This decision seems to come down to Arquette or Irish, with Carlson and Witherspoon also under consideration.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Ike Irish, RF, Auburn
Rank: 13

I’m getting some late-breaking info that Irish is more of a fit here than Hall, so shuffling a few picks that follow to accommodate for that.

Cincinnati seems to be the floor if Hernandez or Doyle slip, and otherwise the Reds seem to be the ceiling for Hall. Irish, Witherspoon and Carlson are also in the mix.

Billy Carlson, SS, Corona HS (CA)
Rank: 8

Carlson’s range seems to be No. 7 to No. 12 (or maybe No. 14). I think the White Sox really want to land the Parker brothers (JoJo and Jacob) but can’t get JoJo to this pick.

The White Sox have been all over high school hitters all spring, and Carlson gets the nod over Gavin Fien.

Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
Rank: 18

Bremner is picking up steam at this pick, and I think his floor is now Boston’s pick at No. 15. It’s a bit surprising he could go ahead of Witherspoon, but Bremner clearly has been getting interest in the top half of the first round that just hadn’t leaked out to the industry at large until late. I think this will be a college player, likely a pitcher, with Witherspoon and Brendan Summerhill also mentioned here a lot.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Steele Hall, SS, Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL)
Rank: 13

A few names shuffled around late Sunday, and now one of the Rangers’ top targets will be available. Marek Houston is also in the mix here.

I think Hall and Carlson are the targets here, but neither will make it to the pick, so Cunningham will become the pick, narrowly over Josh Hammond. I was hearing Cunningham would fit more 20-30, and the late chatter is that he has multiple homes in the teens. As with the White Sox, the belief all spring was that the Rangers want a prep hitter here.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
Rank: 10

In a last-minute update, I shuffled four players and Witherspoon fits here as a solid value.

Irish is in play at most picks starting at No. 2 all the way down to the middle of the first round, but I think his slide would stop here. The Giants have long been tied to Marek Houston and Charles Davalan (a long shot at this pick, but gone by their next one), with Andrew Fischer getting some love as well.

4:15 p.m. ET UPDATE: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson HS (TX)
Rank: 25

I think this pick will come down to Cunningham or Sean Gamble in this situation; Gamble could make it to their next pick.

The Rays are tied to prep position players for later picks and could pull a shocker, as I projected in my previous mock, by taking Jaden Fauske here.

I think Hall, Carlson and Cunningham are the main targets, but none of them is available in this projection. Witherspoon is from Florida and is a great value, while the Rays still have a chance to land Fauske at their next pick.

Gavin Fien, 3B, Great Oak HS (CA)
Rank: 12

I’ll stick with Fien here as one of the steadiest projections all spring. It sounds like Tyler Bremner will be the pick if he gets here, but that’s now looking unlikely.

Gavin Kilen, SS, Tennessee
Rank: 20

Kilen fits the type of prospect the Twins have targeted for a while. I could see Houston, Caden Bodine or Gage Wood being options here, too.

Josh Hammond, SS, Wesleyan Christian HS (NC)
Rank: 17

I think the Cubs are targeting in-game power here, and Hammond makes a lot of sense. They’ve scouted Quentin Young pretty hard this spring as well, but this is too early for that kind of risk. Xavier Neyens, Wehiwa Aloy and Wood all fit, as well.

Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
Rank: 22

I think Cunningham is the target here, but he isn’t available in this scenario. Hammond and Bodine are also mentioned here and I think Slater de Brun will be the selection at Arizona’s next pick.

Jace LaViolette, CF, Texas A&M
Rank: 21

LaViolette should go in one of the next three picks and fits Baltimore’s style. He won’t get to the Orioles’ next pick, but they may be able to float targets down there with their extra pool muscle, as covered in the previous mock.

Brendan Summerhill, CF, Arizona
Rank: 14

Summerhill has a very unclear and wide range of teams that are interested but could fit here. Daniel Pierce, Houston, Bodine and Coy James are all in the mix for this pick.

Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas
Rank: 15

I think LaViolette, Neyens, Southisene and Aloy are all in the mix here, along with possible underslot deals for Davalan or de Brun.

Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas
Rank: 16

It now looks like Bremner won’t get here, but the Braves have been tied to Wood for about a month. Otherwise, the hit-first shortstops like Houston and Pierce are tied here.

Daniel Pierce, SS, Mill Creek HS (GA)
Rank: 19

Hammond seems to be the target, but he doesn’t make it to K.C. in this edition. I think the Royals will take a prep pitcher with one of their high picks, likely either Watson or Fisher, and maybe another later on Day 1. Eyanson and Wood are two college arms being considered.

Coy James, SS, Davie County HS (NC)
Rank: 69

James has a good shot at being a Tiger, and some of Detroit’s primary options go right ahead of this spot in this scenario, so I think this could be a curveball pick to most viewers.

Fauske is another possibility here, along with Kruz Schoolcraft, Pierce, Watson, Dax Kilby (more at their next pick), de Brun (same), Southisene and Fischer.

Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU
Rank: 45

There’s lots of late momentum for Eyanson here, which is counter to the history of A.J. Preller’s time making picks for the Padres, so I’m going out on a limb.

Kilby on a cut, Young, Schoolcraft, Alec Blair, Josh Owens and de Brun all seem like high schoolers in the mix here.

Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina
Rank: 23

Philly normally takes high-ceiling high school players, but this is too good of a value to pass up. Matthew Fisher, Sean Gamble and Blair are the leading prep targets, and Fischer is also mentioned.

Tate Southisene, SS, Basic HS (NV)
Rank: 37

Kane Kepley on a big cut, Devin Taylor on a smaller one, Kilby and Watson are all options here.

Note: No. 27 is the final pick of the first round of the 2025 MLB draft. You can read mock draft 3.0 for my thinking and potential targets for teams making the comp and second-round picks that follow and see the full draft order here.

28. Kansas City Royals: Aaron Watson, RHP, Trinity Christian HS (FL)
29. Arizona Diamondbacks: Slater de Brun, CF, Summit HS (OR)
30. Baltimore Orioles: Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon HS (WA)
31. Baltimore Orioles: Andrew Fischer, 3B, Tennessee
32. Milwaukee Brewers: Charles Davalan, LF, Arkansas
33. Boston Red Sox: Marcus Phillips, RHP, Tennessee
34. Detroit Tigers: Jaden Fauske, RF, Nazareth Academy HS (IL)
35. Seattle Mariners: Zach Root, LHP, Arkansas
36. Minnesota Twins: Devin Taylor, LF, Indiana
37. Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Yost, SS, Sickles HS (FL)
38. New York Mets: Patrick Forbes, RHP, Louisville
39. New York Yankees: Dax Kilby, SS, Newnan HS (GA)
40: Los Angeles Dodgers: Quentin Young, 3B, Oaks Christian HS (CA)
41. Los Angeles Dodgers: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset HS (OR)
42. Tampa Bay Rays: Sean Gamble, 2B, IMG Academy HS (FL)
43. Miami Marlins: Alec Blair, CF, De La Salle HS (CA)
44. Chicago White Sox: Ethan Conrad, RF, Wake Forest
45. Colorado Rockies: Cam Cannarella, CF, Clemson
46. Miami Marlins: Josh Owens, SS, Providence Academy HS (TN)
47. Los Angeles Angels: J.D. Thompson, LHP, Vanderbilt
48. Athletics: J.B. Middleton, RHP, Southern Miss
49. Washington Nationals: Max Belyeu, RF, Texas
50. Pittsburgh Pirates: Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina
51. Cincinnati Reds: Taitn Gray, C, Grimes Community HS (IA)
52. Texas Rangers: Michael Oliveto, C, Hauppauge HS (NY)
53. Tampa Bay Rays: Dean Moss, CF, IMG Academy HS (FL)
54. Minnesota Twins: Josiah Hartshorn, LF, Orange Lutheran HS (CA)
55. St. Louis Cardinals: Cooper Flemming, SS, Aliso Niguel HS (CA)
56. Chicago Cubs: Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State
57. Seattle Mariners: Malachi Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
58. Baltimore Orioles: Mason Neville, CF, Oregon
59. Milwaukee Brewers: Mitch Voit, 2B, Michigan
60. Atlanta Braves: Kane Kepley, CF, North Carolina
61. Kansas City Royals: Riley Quick, RHP, Alabama
62. Detroit Tigers: Dean Curley, 3B, Tennessee
63. Philadelphia Phillies: Matthew Fisher, RHP, Evansville Memorial HS (IN)
64. Cleveland Guardians: A.J. Russell, RHP, Tennessee
65. Los Angeles Dodgers: Chase Shores, RHP, LSU
66. Cleveland Guardians: Cade Obermueller, LHP, Iowa
67. Tampa Bay Rays: Briggs McKenzie, LHP, Corinth Holders HS (NC)
68. Milwaukee Brewers: Daniel Dickinson, 2B, LSU
69. Baltimore Orioles: Brandon Compton, LF, Arizona State
70. Cleveland Guardians: Aiden Stillman, LHP, Trinity Prep HS (FL)
71. Kansas City Royals: Angel Cervantes, RHP, Warren HS (CA)
72. St. Louis Cardinals: Joseph Dzierwa, LHP, Michigan State
73. Pittsburgh Pirates: Ethan Petry, 1B, South Carolina
74. Colorado Rockies: Easton Carmichael, C, Oklahoma
75. Boston Red Sox: Jake Cook, CF, Southern Miss

Sports

2025 MLB Home Run Derby: The field is set! Who is the slugger to beat?

Published

24 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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2025 MLB Home Run Derby: The field is set! Who is the slugger to beat?

Jul 11, 2025, 08:19 PM ET

The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.

Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.

On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.

With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.

Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more

2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet

Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.

Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.

2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet

Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.

Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.

2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet

Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.

Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.

2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet

Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.

Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.

2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet

Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.

Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.

2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet

Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.

Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.

2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet

Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.

Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.

2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet

Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.

Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.

Sports

Reds’ Fraley to play through partially torn labrum

Published

1 day ago

July 12, 2025

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Reds' Fraley to play through partially torn labrum

Associated Press

Jul 12, 2025, 02:28 PM ET

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jake Fraley was activated from the 10-day injured list on Saturday.

He had injured his right shoulder while trying to make a diving catch June 23 against the New York Yankees.

An MRI revealed a partially torn labrum that will eventually require surgery. Fraley received a cortisone shot and will try to play through it for the rest of the season.

The Reds were 7-4 in his absence.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who hasn’t played since Noelvi Marte returned from the IL on July 4, was optioned to Triple-A Louisville.