Here are the top 10 performers from the Futures Game
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WASHINGTON -- All-Star Sunday began with some of the top high school hitters in the country sending balls out of Nationals Park in the annual High School Home Run Derby. The participants in the 20th SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game didn't want to feel left out, so they hit a record eight homers themselves as the U.S. team beat the World team, 10-6.
• Box score
The offensive output -- 16 combined runs and 22 hits -- is obviously the focal point when discussing top performers. But it's not only about the long ball. There were some exciting pitchers on display to make a more robust top 10 performers list:
:: 2018 Futures Game coverage ::
1. Taylor Trammell, OF, Reds: A mid-game replacement, Trammell's first at-bat came in the sixth inning when he took a Kieran Lovegrove fastball and sent it 438 feet out to right-center field to give the United States a brief 6-5 lead, a blast with a 107.9 mph exit velocity according to Statcast™. He thought he had another one in the eighth against Touki Toussaint and had to break out of his home run trot to end up with a triple. That extra-base hit was also over 107 mph, and Trammell was named MVP for his efforts.
2. Yusniel Diaz, OF, Dodgers: Diaz was an MVP candidate himself and is just the second Futures Gamer to hit two homers in one game (Alfonso Soriano, 1999). The first one tied the game in the fifth inning, a two-run shot with an exit velocity of 103.7 mph off of Matt Manning. He went deep off of Shaun Anderson in the seventh, this time a solo homer that was 102.5 mph off his bat. Both were over 400 feet.
3. Luis Basabe, OF, White Sox: It was power vs. power in the third inning when Basabe squared off against Hunter Greene. The hard-throwing righty came with a 102.3-mph fastball and Basabe was up to the task, sending it back at 104.8 mph and out to right-center, 404 feet away. Basabe also showed off his arm, throwing Nate Lowe out at second as he tried to stretch a long single into a double, a throw clocked just a tick above 90 mph.
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4. Hunter Greene, RHP, Reds: His command was a little shaky, but boy did Greene light up the radar gun. The teenage right-hander threw 19 fastballs in his inning and a third. All of them were over 100 mph, topping out at 103.1 mph.
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5. Peter Alonso, 1B, Mets: The cry from Mets fans to call Alonso up to New York is only going to get louder now. He put the U.S. up, 9-6, in the seventh inning, with an absolute moon shot to left. It traveled 415 feet, but that's not what made it extraordinary. It had an exit velocity of 113.6 mph and a launch angle of 46 degrees, the first time in the Statcast™ era a homer has been tracked with an exit velocity above 113 mph and a launch angle above 40.
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6. Seuly Matias, OF, Royals: Matias is the Minor League leader in home runs, with 26 in just 74 games, and he showed he can go big fly against much more advanced competition. The 19-year-old took Justus Sheffield deep in the second. It was 100.7 mph off the bat and tied the score at one in the second inning. Matias added a single in the fifth to cap off a 2-for-3 day.
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7. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pirates: The consensus is that Hayes' power is going to start showing up more consistently in games as he develops. Perhaps his swing in the fourth inning will be a bit of a catalyst. Hayes turned on a Lewis Thorpe fastball and hit it 103.3 mph off the bat with the ball traveling 405 feet, giving the U.S. the lead after Danny Jansen's two-run shot had tied it.
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8. Kyle Wright, RHP, Braves: Though he's used to starting, Wright certainly didn't struggle entering a game out of the bullpen. He was summoned in the eighth inning with runners on first and third with no one out and the U.S. leading, 9-6. Wright got Miguel Amaya to fly out to Buddy Reed, who fired home to keep the runner at third. Then he got Andres Gimenez to ground into an inning-ending double play. Five pitches, four strikes, end of rally.
9. Mitch Keller, RHP, Pirates: Keller's first two starts in Triple-A didn't go so well, but he looked like one of the better pitching prospects in baseball as the U.S. starter. He threw a perfect inning on 14 pitches, showing of all his stuff and popping a 99.5 on the radar gun.
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10. Jesus Luzardo, LHP, A's: While Luzardo did give up a run in the first, he showed why he's considered one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the game. He struck out a pair in his second inning of work and topped out at close to 97 mph while mixing in an effective slider and changeup.
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