5 reasons to root for Bell in Derby

Josh Bell looks the part of a Home Run Derby hitter.

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Listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, the imposing 26-year-old has the stature and strength of a big-time slugger. And yet, entering 2019, Bell didn’t really have the production to match.

That has all changed in a hurry this year, with the Pirates’ All-Star first baseman taking his place among the game’s biggest bashers. And now he will be on the best stage there is for such a hitter -- the Home Run Derby.

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Here are five reasons to root for Bell:

1) He hits bombs

Ultimately, quantity rules at the Derby. But as a viewer, the fun comes as much from the quality of the home runs. And the Derby now rewards the former as well, with any hitter swatting two homers of at least 440 feet in a round -- per Statcast tracking -- earning 30 seconds of bonus time.

Well, it just so happens that Bell leads the Majors this season with seven homers of at least 440 feet, not to mention five of at least 450. All season long, Bell has been crushing the sort of drives that would elicit oohs and aahs at any Derby. He’s responsible for two of the dozen longest homers hit across MLB this season, a 474-footer on April 7 and a 472-footer on May 8. His 116.2 mph shot on May 22 stands as the fourth-hardest homer of 2019.

On May 14 at Arizona, Bell demolished two massive homers, becoming only the third player in the past five seasons to record multiple big flies of at least 110 mph and 440 feet in the same game. And now he will bring that prodigious bat to Cleveland.

2) He could sail the Bucs into uncharted waters

Should Bell take the crown on Monday, he would be the first Pittsburgh player to win the Home Run Derby. The Pirates are not alone in missing out -- 10 other teams haven’t won either -- but this will be their first year even having an entrant into the competition since Pedro Alvarez in 2013.

Alvarez did not make it out of the first round that year. Neither did Andrew McCutchen in 2012, nor Jason Bay in ‘05, when he put up a zero. Even Barry Bonds didn’t fare well in the Derby as a Pirate, hitting just two homers in 1992. Bobby Bonilla was shut out in ‘90 as well.

That’s a long history of Derby duds, but Bell could put that all to an emphatic end.

3) It would be the cherry on top of a sensational first-half breakout

Bell was a second-round pick out of high school (2011) and a top-25 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. But while he posted above-average offensive numbers in a 45-game debut in 2016, and in both of the full seasons that followed, his .260/.348/.436 line was hardly eye-popping for a first baseman. Bell hit 26 homers in ‘17, then regressed to just 12 in nearly 600 plate appearances last year.

It’s always exciting when a player with talent and hype suddenly figures things out, and so Bell has in 2019. He has found a great combination, hitting the ball much harder and getting it in the air more, while sacrificing only a minimal amount of contact. The results have been breathtaking. When Bell went deep three times against the Cubs on Monday, he joined Hall of Famer Willie Stargell as the only Pirates to reach 25 big flies before the break.

4) He’d be switching things up

Bell hits from both sides of the plate, and he rakes from both sides. While he obviously takes far more at-bats as a lefty against right-handed pitchers, he also has popped seven homers and slugged nearly .600 in 76 at-bats as a righty.

Not surprisingly, Bell is leaning toward batting left-handed in the Derby. None of his 440-foot homers have come from the right side, and there is no need to switch-hit against a single batting practice pitcher. Even so, Bell could make history by becoming only the second switch-hitter to win in Derby history. Ruben Sierra shared the title with Eric Davis way back in 1989 -- the event’s fifth season -- despite managing just three home runs in a single round. It was a far different time.

Bell won’t be alone this year, joining fellow switch-hitter Carlos Santana, but they will be the first of their kind in the Derby since Carlos Beltran advanced to the semifinals in 2012.

5) It’s a ‘Happy Happy’ story

Pitchers obviously play an integral role in any Derby, trying to place the ball where their hitter wants it, over and over again, with the world watching. And sometimes, those pitchers are part of the story themselves. Just think back to last year, when Bryce Harper’s dad, Ron, was on the mound for his Derby win in D.C.

Bell’s pitcher will be Jonathan Schwind, whom the Bucs drafted in the 41st round (which no longer exists) in the same year they took Bell in the second. Already facing long odds to reach the Majors, Schwind battled injuries and never rose above Double-A. But as MLB.com Pirates reporter Adam Berry detailed, Schwind’s positive attitude helped him earn the nickname “Happy Happy,” a close friendship with Bell, and a Minor League coaching position with Pittsburgh after his playing career ended. Now he’ll be dealing in the Derby.