Cincinnati Reds: Derek Dietrich misses out on Home Run Derby

Cincinnati Reds slugger Derek Dietrich will miss out on the All-Star festivities in his hometown. Dietrich was not invited to participate in the Home Run Derby.

This year’s Home Run Derby will include some of the biggest sluggers in the game. However, Cincinnati Reds utility man Derek Dietrich will not be part of the festivities. Even after lobbying to participate in the event, the 29-year-old Cleveland native was not selected to participate in Monday’s showcase.

Dietrich has ‘Let It Fly’ on countless occasions this season, 18 to be exact, but he’ll not be part of the Home Run Derby. The final two participants were announced last night and Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros and Joe Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers will fill out the eight-player bracket.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Christian Yelich, Pete Alonso, Carlos Santana, Josh Bell, and Ronald Acuna Jr. will join Pederson and Bregman at Progressive Field on Monday night. All of the participants, except for Guerrero Jr., have more home runs than Dietrich.

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While the Toronto Blue Jays’ rookie may only have 8 round trippers on the season, Major League Baseball wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to put one of their best young talents on display. Unfortunately for Guerrero Jr., he’ll be going up against last year’s NL MVP in Round 1. Yelich has 31 bombs so far this season.

Santana, with 19 home runs on the season, has barely eclipsed Dietrich’s mark. However, it’s customary for the host-team to have at least participant in the event. In 2015, Todd Frazier won the Home Run Derby in front of the crowd at Great American Ball Park.

While I’m sure Cincinnati Reds fans wanted to see Dietz in the mid-summer showcase, he hasn’t done much of late to make his case. Dietrich hasn’t hit a homer since June 18th against the Astros and before that, there was a 14 game gap.

Derek Dietrich electrified the crowd in Cincinnati on Opening Day with his towering blast to right field that gave the Reds the lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He then clubbed two homers at PNC Park, a game that will be remembered more for the melee that broke out between Yasiel Puig and the entire Pittsburgh team.

A couple months ago, Dietrich was locked in. Showing his worth to the team and earning more playing time, Dietz slashed .304/.400/.841 with 12 home runs and 22 RBIs during the month of May. Dietrich has cooled off since, and is sitting on a .223 batting average, though he still has an OPS of .917 despite having only 5 hits in his last 15 games and just 1 homer.

I guess Dietrich will just have to put on a show again next season. The Midsummer Classic is at Dodgers Stadium next season. I think the swagger that Dietrich carries with him would play pretty good out in Los Angeles. For now, we’re just happy to have him here in Cincinnati.