Luis Robert earns No. 1 seed in MLB Home Run Derby

Luis Robert earns No. 1 seed in MLB Home Run Derby originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Luis Robert Jr. earned the No. 1 seed in the MLB Home Run Derby, ESPN announced on their broadcast.

He will face off against Adley Rutschman in the first round of the tournament.

Rutschman, the Baltimore Orioles catcher, has his 11 home runs this season. Robert Jr., on the other hand, has 25 home runs this season (third in MLB), including 11 in June alone.

Rutschman is slashing .272/.375/.417 from the plate with 84 hits, 12 of which are doubles. This season marks just his second year in the majors.

Robert Jr. is a well-deserving candidate for the tournament. He's hit 25 home runs this season, the third-most in MLB, and second-most in the American League trailing only Shohei Ohtani. His .580 slugging percentage this season also equates to MLB's third-best value.

His average home run distance this season is 406 feet, according to Baseball Savant's Statcast graphic. That slots 64th in the majors. His hardest-hit ball came off his bat at 113.6 miles per hour, which ranks in the top 50 for hardest-hit balls this year.

On July 4th, Robert launched a 450-foot home run against the Blue Jays that flew 111+ miles per hour off his bat. He stuck around in the batter's box to boast his left-field blast, underscoring the incredible hitting run he's strung together. Robert Jr. hit 11 home runs in June, tied for the second-most in MLB.

When asked about his celebratory pause in the box, Robert Jr. couldn't quite pinpoint his impromptu celebration.

"It’s the first time I did something like that," Robert Jr. said. "Even when I got back to the dugout, Eloy asked, ‘Hey, what happened?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know. It was just a reaction.’ I don’t know how I did it or why I did it.''

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