Jack facts: Statcast previews 2017 HR Derby

July 10th, 2017

Tonight's T-Mobile Home Run Derby in Miami (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) brings together eight sluggers who will take aim at the Marlins Park bleachers and try to go home with the trophy.
Statcast™ will be there to track the hard-hitting action, and it should be plenty busy. Each of the eight has produced some impressive Statcast-centric achievements -- feats of blistering exit velocities, dramatic distances, steep angles and more.
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The field includes the defending champion, , who has far more experience setting off Marlins Park's colorful home run sculpture than anyone else. Stanton, along with teammate , will try to ride the energy of the hometown crowd to victory.
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But while Stanton was Statcast™'s undisputed standout star throughout the previous two seasons, Yankees rookie has mounted a steep challenge to that throne in 2017. Now Judge, MLB's hardest hitter this year, will take aim at Stanton's Derby reign.
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And don't forget about the other rookie sensation, the Dodgers' , who has made up for lost time since his MLB debut on April 25. Judge's teammate is another dangerous challenger, along with the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon, the Royals' Mike Moustakas and the Twins' .
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Here is a look at a few notable Statcast™ facts for each of the competitors, who are listed in order of their current home run totals:
Judge (30 HR)
• Judge's 121.1-mph shot into the left-field bleachers at Yankee Stadium on June 10 is the hardest home run Statcast™ has recorded since it was introduced for the 2015 season. In fact, despite making his Major League debut late last year, Judge has four of the six hardest homers during that time -- all better than 118 mph.

• Judge accounts for seven of the 17 home runs hit with an exit velocity of at least 115 mph this season, while no other player has more than three.
• Judge's 495-foot blast on June 11 at Yankee Stadium remains the longest hit by anyone this year and is tied for the second longest going back to the beginning of 2015.
Stanton (26 HR)
• Stanton is responsible for the only home run Statcast™ has projected in excess of 500 feet since it was introduced for the 2015 season. It came, of course, at Coors Field, on Aug. 6 of last season. The 504-foot big fly is the longest Statcast™ has tracked, by a margin of nine feet.
• Stanton's 15 home runs of 450 feet or longer are the most by any player since the start of 2015. is next with 12, although all but one of those has come in Colorado. No other hitter has more than eight.

• Stanton owns Marlins Park, hitting each of the eight hardest and each of the eight longest homers there over the past three seasons. All of the former group came off his bat at 114 mph or more, while all of the latter cleared 450 feet.
Bellinger (25 HR)
• Since arriving in the Majors, Bellinger has homered on 4.8 percent of the swings he has taken. That's the highest rate out of more than 275 players with at least 300 swings this season.
• Bellinger's nine home runs hit while behind in the count trail only the Brewers' (11), and his seven homers while behind either 0-2 or 1-2 ties him with Thames for the MLB lead.
• He has gone deep eight times with runners in scoring position, tying him with Judge and the Orioles' for the most in MLB.

Moustakas (25 HR)
• Moustakas has pulled 24 of his 25 home runs to the right side of the field this season, which gives him the most pulled homers of any big league hitter -- left- or right-handed.
• Moustakas' total of 22 home runs with an exit velocity of at least 100 mph leads all MLB left-handers, while his 14 big flies of at least 400 feet tie him for fourth in that group.
• Moustakas' 440-foot blast at Kauffman Stadium on June 20 is the second-longest by any hitter against Red Sox ace Chris Sale over the past three seasons. It's the longest by a left-handed batter against the southpaw during that span.

Sano (21 HR)
• Each of Sano's 21 home runs have been barrels -- batted balls with an ideal combination of exit velocity and launch angle. Only of the A's (24) and of the Blue Jays (23) have more homers this season, with all of them being barrels.
• Each of Sano's 21 home runs have featured a hit probability of at least 60 percent, based on their exit velocity and launch angle. That's tied for fourth most in MLB.

• Sano's average home run exit velocity of 107.1 mph ranks fifth among players who have gone deep at least 15 times this season.
Blackmon (20 HR)
• Blackmon prepared for the Derby in style on Sunday, crushing a 477-foot blast at Coors Field that was his longest since Statcast™ was introduced in 2015 and is the third-longest by any Rockies player during that time. Coming against of the White Sox, it tied for the third longest by any left-handed batter off a left-handed pitcher.

• On June 22 at Coors Field, Blackmon golfed a curveball from the D-backs' a projected 433 feet for a home run. The pitch was just 0.84 feet off the ground, making it the lowest hit for a home run this season and the second lowest since Statcast™ was introduced.
• Blackmon's average launch angle of 29.8 degrees on home runs is 10th highest among all players who have gone deep at least 15 times this season, and it ranks first among Derby participants.
Bour (20 HR)
• Among left-handed batters, Bour owns four of the eight hardest home runs at Marlins Park in 2017, as well as the two hardest Statcast™ has ever recorded -- blasts of 114.1 mph and 111.9 mph hit last season.

• Bour has no trouble covering the plate, hitting eight home runs on pitches to the outer third of the strike zone. That's tied for second among all left-handed hitters, trailing only Moustakas.
• Bour has homered against 10 offspeed pitches this season, tied for fifth in the Majors.
Sanchez (13 HR)
• Sanchez's average projected distance of 427 feet on home runs leads all players who have hit at least 10 this season.
• Sanchez's average home run launch angle (23.4 degrees) is fourth-lowest in that group, and his 15-degree shot on June 10 at Yankee Stadium is tied for the lowest this season.
• All but one of Sanchez's home runs has been projected to travel at least 400 feet. That gives him the highest rate of 400-footers (92.3 percent) among players with at least 10 homers.

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