Reds Home Run Derby Candidates

The Home Run Derby is the best part of All Star Week in the MLB. Not only do you have Chris Berman on the mic with his classic call, "back, back, back," but the event also gives the league a chance to showcase its best power hitters. This year's Home Run Derby team includes Chris Davis of Baltimore, who already has over thirty homers, Bryce Harper, and Prince Fielder, among others. The Reds have a multitude of power hitters on their roster, and in 2015 when Cincinnati hosts the All Star Game, one of those players might get the call to participate in the Home Run Derby. 

Jay Bruce is the likeliest candidate to succeed in the Home Run Derby. Bruce is still just 26 years old, not yet in his prime as a hitter, and has seen his home run totals climb each season in the big leagues. Bruce has hit over thirty homers in each of the last two seasons, and has eighteen heading into the last series against the Braves before the All Star Break. Bruce would excel in the contest, especially in Cincinnati where he can hit baseball's past the right field fence with relative ease.

When Ryan Ludwick is healthy, he has an unbelievably powerful swing. Ludwick's resurgence with Cincinnati last season proved he can still be a long ball hitter after he crushed twenty-six home runs in 2012. Ludwick's career high in homers came in 2008 in St. Louis, when he hit thirty-seven while hitting a career high .299. 

Joey Votto and Todd Frazier are the two next best power hitters on the roster. Frazier has the potential to be the best home run hitter on the Reds with the exception of Bruce, but he is inconsistent with his power swings. When Frazier gets ahold of a pitch, the ball travels huge distances. He can even hit home runs with a one-handed swing. Frazier hit nineteen home runs in his rookie year, but can definitely be responsible for thirty in each of the next few seasons. 

Votto has developed himself into a hitter who thinks about just getting on base above all else, but he is a very clutch power hitter who knows when to swing with force. Votto hit thirty-seven homers his MVP year in 2010, and followed up that season with twenty-nine. Based on Votto's competitiveness and drive to succeed, it wouldn't surprise me if the star first baseman won a Home Run Derby.