Daniel Vogelbach To Participate In 2017 Triple-A Home Run Derby

TACOMA, Wash. -- Tacoma Rainiers slugger Daniel Vogelbach has been selected to compete in the 2017 Triple-A Home Run Derby presented by Alaska USA Federal Credit Union. The Derby is set for Monday, July 10 at 7:05 p.m. PT at Cheney Stadium.
Competing alongside Vogelbach for the title of top Triple-A slugger will be Renato Núñez (Nashville) and Christian Walker (Reno) from the Pacific Coast League. The International League will send Bryce Brentz (Pawtucket), Danny Hayes (Charlotte), and Richie Shaffer (Columbus) to compete in the Derby.

Vogelbach, 24, has hit 16 home runs for the Rainiers since joining the Mariners organization in July 2016. Of those 16 long balls, seven have been hit at Cheney Stadium. The power hitting infielder entered the year ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Seattle farm system by Baseball America. His appearance in the 2017 CHI Franciscan Health Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 12 will be his second consecutive Triple-A All-Star nod, after starting at first base for the PCL in 2016.
The 23-year-old Nunez leads Triple-A with 22 homers and is tied for tops in Minor League Baseball. The Venezuelan native homered in a season-high three straight games from May 1-3, finishing the month with nine long balls. Nunez has launched 120 homers in his seven-year career, the most of anyone in the Derby field.
Walker, in his first year in the Diamondbacks organization, is second in the PCL with 20 home runs on the season. He has a pair of multi-homer games and hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning of a one-run win on May 8. Walker spent the first five years of his career in the Orioles organization after getting drafted in 2012 out of the University of South Carolina. With the Gamecocks, he hit 30 homers in three seasons and was a member of two National Championship teams.
Pawtucket's Bryce Brentz has mashed 18 homers on the year, trailing only two players for the International League lead. The Middle Tennessee State product hit 11 in the month of June to pace all IL players. Brentz has hit a homer once every 13.61 at-bats on the season to best the league. He has been in the Red Sox organization his entire career after getting selected by Boston in the first round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.
Hayes, in his just his fifth professional season and his first at Minor League Baseball's highest level, has already set a career-high with 15 home runs. The California native has slugged three grand slams on the season, including one as part of a multi-homer game. Hayes was a 13th round pick of the White Sox in 2013 out of Oregon State.
Shaffer leads a Columbus club that is second in the IL in homers with 17. The 26-year-old has five Major League homers in only 51 games and is closing in on 100 for his professional career. Shaffer, in his first year in the Indians organization, spent his first five years with the Rays after getting drafted by Tampa Bay with the 25th overall pick in 2012 out of Clemson. He hit 30 homers with Durham in his two seasons with the Bulls.
Tickets to the 2017 Triple-A Home Run Derby presented by Alaska USA Federal Credit Union on Monday, July 10 and the 2017 CHI Franciscan Health Triple-A All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 12 are still available and can be purchased by visiting www.tacomarainiers.com.
Single-game tickets, season ticket options, group outings, and suite packages for the Rainiers 2017 season are available now and can be purchased by calling the Tacoma Rainiers front office at (253) 752-7707, online at www.tacomarainiers.com, or in person at the Cheney Stadium Box Office. The most up-to-date news and notes about the Rainiers leading up to and throughout the 2017 season can be found by following the Rainiers on Twitter (@RainiersLand) and liking the team on Facebook.