Home Run Derby X: The Cage's rosters revealed

Have you ever dreamed of home runs being bashed through the center of London? Have you ever wanted to see balls mashed in front of the National Gallery, soaring majestically through the air and past Nelson's Column? Well, you're in luck because that's exactly what Home Run Derby X is bringing this year.

Located in the iconic Trafalgar Square, HRDX: The Cage will serve as a kind of unofficial launch party for this year's London Series. Four co-ed teams of three players and a batting practice pitcher each -- the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs and Cardinals -- will step into The Cage on Friday night, blending baseball action with augmented reality to become its own futuristic home run derby.

While Nick Swisher and Jonny Gomes have returned from last year's tour -- representing the Yankees and Red Sox, natch -- here is who is filling out the rest of the lineup.

Yankees

Nick Swisher - Legend

The high-energy star of the New York Yankees -- who won the first HRDX event in London last summer -- is back and looking to deliver another 'W' for his team. During his 12-year-career, the fan favorite outfielder was an All-Star, competed in the 2010 HR Derby, and won a World Series ring with the Yankees in 2009. The slugger hit 20-plus home runs every season from 2005-13, finishing his career with 245 dingers.

At last year's HRDX, he bashed with 51 total home runs -- fourth-most in the tournament -- and blasted the third-longest home run. Who knows what he might do in a virtual reality environment.

Erika Piancastelli - Superstar

Playing internationally is nothing new for the softball superstar as Piancastelli currently suits up for the SGH Galaxy Stars in Japan, is a member of Athletes Unlimited and has represented the Italian National Team in softball since 2016. The catcher was also named MVP of the London event last summer.

In addition, Piancastelli owns practically every McNeese State record in the books during her time at the school. A two-time All-American, she posted a .401/.561/.868 batting line with 75 home runs across her four seasons with the softball team, and set the Southland Conference mark for most career walks (229).

Alex Crosby - Big Hitter

British baseball fans may know the name Alex Crosby: The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs infielder hit the walk-off sacrifice fly that defeated Spain and sent GB Baseball to its first ever World Baseball Classic. Crosby, who appeared in two games during Great Britain's World Baseball Classic run this March, has an impressive .539 slugging percentage this year with the Blue Crabs.

Justin Kunz - Pitcher

A four-year standout at Gardner-Webb University, collecting All-American and First-Team All Conference player awards during his stay there. Kunz hit .319 with 11 home runs in his senior season before being selected by the Angels in the 2019 draft. The youngest BP pitcher at HRDX, Kunz now coaches at Pro5 Baseball and was recently head coach of the Regensburg Academy team at the 2023 Gateway Series.

Red Sox

Jonny Gomes - Legend

Gomes was always known for playing with winners -- collecting World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2013 and the Royals in 2015 -- and Home Run Derby X is no different. The Red Sox Legend helped deliver the Red Sox to the inaugural Home Run Derby X title in Mexico City, while also laying his body on the line with a tournament-leading 21 catches. (Cardinals Superstar Ashton Lansdell was second with nine.)

During his big league days, Gomes crushed 162 home runs, while also winning the Caribbean World Series while playing in Mexico and was named Winter League MVP by Baseball America in 2005.

Elizabeth Mason - Superstar

Are you ready for some accolades? Because Mason's got them. A former Florida State Seminoles utility player, Mason helped the team win the 2018 NCAA national championship, finishing as runners-up to Oklahoma in 2021. In addition, she was named to the 2018 Women's College World Series All-Tournament Team, 2019 All-ACC second team, 2019 ACC Academic Honor roll, and 2020 Softball American Preseason Top 100. She crushed 32 home runs during her college softball career and now plays for the Texas Smoke, a professional softball team in Austin, Texas.

Hanley Ramirez - Big Hitter

A veteran of 15 big league seasons, Ramirez returns to the team that he made his big league debut with in 2005, and where he returned to play from 2015-18. Ramirez earned the Rookie of the Year Award with the Marlins in 2006, was elected to three All-Star Games and picked up two Silver Slugger Awards during his big league career, finishing with 271 home runs and 917 RBIs.

Mack Jenkins - Pitcher

The Reds pitching coaching from 2016-18, Jenkins oversaw the development of future stars like Luis Castillo and Raisel Iglesias. He has a pretty unique career highlight while pitching in the Minor Leagues, too: Jenkins broke up the longest winning streak in American professional baseball history when he snapped the Salt Lake Trappers' 29-game winning streak while in the Minor Leagues in 1987. Primarily relying on changeups and breaking balls, Jenkins stymied a powerful offense that entered the game hitting .347 as a team.

He'll look to do the opposite of that at HRDX, as this time he _wants _hitters to go deep.

Cubs

Dexter Fowler - Legend

Fowler only played two seasons with the Cubs, but what years they were: The outfielder played in Chicago from 2015-16 and not only went to the All-Star Game in 2016 -- hitting 13 home runs with an .840 OPS during the year -- but, oh yeah, he also helped the Cubs end a 108-year World Series drought that October.

Across a 14-year big league career, Fowler hit 127 home runs and drove in 517 runs.

Alex Hugo - Superstar

A former softball star at the University of Georgia and in the National Pro Fastpitch league, the current U.S. Women's National Team star returns to the Cubs and HRDX for a second season. During last year's tournament, Hugo finished eighth in home runs with 29 and third in catch points with eight. In addition, Hugo helped the U.S. win gold at the 2019 Pan-American Championships, collecting All-Tournament, Most Valuable Player and 2019 USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year Awards along the way.

She'll be a big part of the USWNT later this summer when the team heads to Thunder Bay, Ontario for the Women's World Cup qualifiers.

Ural Forbes - Big Hitter

Another GB baseball veteran joins Home Run Derby X. The Freeport, Bahamas native was on Great Britain's World Baseball Classic roster this spring, appearing in one game. The catcher was named to the All-Northeast-10 Conference Second Team as a senior in 2019 while attending Franklin Pierce University.

Dave Jauss - Pitcher

Jauss has done practically any and everything in his 40-plus year career in pro baseball. The pitcher for Pete Alonso when the Mets slugger won his second HR Derby title in 2021, Jauss' greatest accomplishment may have come in 2004: That year he was the advance scout for the Boston Red Sox when they broke an 86-year championship drought.

Cardinals

David Eckstein - Legend

Eckstein may not be the first name you think of when it comes to homers, but the 5-foot-6 shortstop made a career out of proving people wrong. A fan- and cult-favorite ballplayer, Eckstein was a two-time All-Star, led the league in hit-by-pitches and sacrifice hits twice in his career (sadly, neither are worth points in HRDX) and won two World Series titles -- including being named MVP of the 2006 World Series.

Eckstein was even included in an easter egg on the sitcom "Parks and Recreation."

Ashton Lansdell - Superstar

Lansdell is another returning slugger from last season, only now she's switching from Dodger blue to Cardinal red. A member of the USWNT alongside Hugo, Lansdell was called up at just 17 years old. She also pitched and played outfield at the 2019 Pan-American Championships, cracking two home runs and stealing three bases.

After playing one season at Georgia Highlands College, where she was the first woman to play baseball at the NJCAA level, Lansdell transferred to FIU where she now plays for the softball team. She hit .311 with five home runs in her first year with the team.

Alana Snow - Big Hitter

A former UCLA Bruin where she won the national title in 2019, Snow now lines up for the Great Britain softball team after spending 2022 playing Professional Beach Volleyball for Team England on its World Tour. Snow is back to softball now, and was just named to GB softball roster for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier. She will play her last season of NCAA softball at the University of California Santa Barbara.

Jay Stott - Pitcher

Playing baseball internationally is nothing new for Stott, who is the current GM of the Pro5 baseball academy. A former UNC Wilmington college player, Stott has held clinics in Germany, Hungary, Spain, Austria, Slovakia among others and helped coach the Czech National Team at the 2019 European Championships.

"I love sharing my love for baseball internationally," Stott said. "HRDX is a creative way to introduce the game to groups of people who will hopefully become baseball fans."