Mervis singles, lifts struggling Cubs in debut
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Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO — Matt Mervis‘ climb to the big leagues was both meandering and steep. When debut day finally arrived on a lustrous Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, the pinnacle moment almost didn’t happen.
“I was hoping for the fourth at-bat,” Mervis said after his eighth-inning single drove in an insurance run in the Cubs’ 4-1 win over the Marlins at the Friendly Confines.
Mervis joined the club from Triple-A Iowa on Friday upon the Cubs’ returning from a tough road trip through Miami and Washington on which they lost six of seven, with five of the losses coming by a single run.
“It sucks hard,” was how Cubs manager David Ross described the spate of narrow defeats. Still, the mood was lightened by the arrival of Mervis, who was hitting .286/.402/.560 at Triple-A Iowa with six homers and 27 RBIs in 24 games.
That’s what happens with any touted new arrival: a resurgence of hope. Perhaps echoing that notion was the weather itself, warm and flawless on a sunny afternoon on the north side of Chicago.
“They just said, ‘Pack stuff and get to the stadium, and congratulations,'” Mervis said, describing the call he received from the Cubs telling him he was hitting the big-time. He added, “This is all I’ve wanted to do for pretty much my whole life.”
While Mervis’ Triple-A numbers suggested an eventual promotion was inevitable, it wasn’t long ago that it seemed inconceivable. After a four-year career at Duke in which Mervis was as coveted for his pitching arm as his bat, he went undrafted in the 2020 draft, which was truncated to five rounds because of the pandemic.
Mervis signed with the Cubs as a free agent. While he heard many times that he should focus on pitching, he always thought his future would be forged with his still-developing ability with the bat. His insistence on that belief was a big step that led to Friday’s game.
Still, things moved slowly. Mervis hit just .209 during his first season of professional games in 2021 but then leaped to .309 across three levels in 2022 while mashing 36 homers. In fact, that became his nickname: Mash.
“My parents like it,” Mervis said. “We all have T-shirts and my friends jokingly call me that sometimes. It is strange to be a minor leaguer with a nickname, but I don’t mind.”
With the Cubs floundering a bit on offense during the rough road trip, and the Mervis mash in effect at Iowa, the time for his long-awaited call arrived. His parents, who had been en route to watch him play in the minors, had to reroute to Chicago, all while dealing with the emotions of their son realizing his dream.
After meeting with the media and studying the labyrinthine passageways beneath 109-year-old Wrigley Field before the game, Mervis took the field with his teammates, and before he knew it, he was striding to the plate for his first MLB at-bat against Marlins righty Edward Cabrera in the second inning.
The crowd, all too familiar with Mervis’ prospect profile, gave him a rousing, prolonged welcome as he stepped to the plate.
“That was really cool,” Mervis said. “Obviously the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of, and for people to cheer for me like that was something I’ve never experienced before.”
Also: Mervis had never faced a big league pitcher in a big league game before, and Cabrera greeted him with a nasty changeup at the knees — at 92.4 mph. He ended up striking out in that first at-bat. He grounded out in the fourth and struck out again in the sixth.
Hey, the big leagues are tough. Meanwhile, the well-pitched game zipped along, and with the Cubs leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Mervis was due to be the fifth batter up in the inning.
The first two hitters went down quickly, but Cody Bellinger blooped a double after Marlins right fielder Garrett Hampson fell down. With tough lefty Tanner Scott on the mound, Miami walked righty Trey Mancini intentionally to bring the lefty-swinging Mervis to the plate for another shot at his first hit.
Mervis didn’t waste that fourth at-bat. Instead he very much lived up to his name — he mashed. Mervis’ line shot to right rocketed off the bat at 111 mph and plated Bellinger to give the Cubs an insurance run in the tense contest.
“That was fun,” Mervis said. “I was trying not to overthink it.”
The response was typical on a day that Mervis seemed to handle with the ease of a veteran, even with so much going on and his parents watching from the stands.
“I liked the way he handled the moments,” Ross said. “Didn’t get outside of himself and took some good swings on some nasty pitches.”
With his first game, first hit and first RBI all under his belt, and the ball with which he collected his first big league knock secured, the only question remaining for Mervis was what he would do with the memento.
“It’s going to my dad,” Mervis said. “He was wearing my Fall League jersey today. He gets the bats and gloves and all that stuff. I know he presents that stuff proudly in his office.”
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.
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