Luis Robert, Pete Alonso and Co. will be the headliners for Monday's MLB Home Run Derby. But there's another group of participants to keep an eye on as well.
That would be the pitchers who are throwing to the sluggers: a collection of coaches, friends and family members who are (nearly) as important as the derby contestants themselves. There is no set rule for who can throw in the derby, meaning the reasons for their participation varies from player to player.
Robert, for example, is going with Luis Sierra, the White Sox bullpen coach. The player he's competing against in the first round, 8-seed Adley Rutschman of the Orioles, is taking the All-American route and having his father pitch to him.
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Then there's Pete Alonso, the two-time winner who is going with his third different pitcher in four trips to the Home Run Derby. The person throwing to him is Mike Friedlein, whom Alonso promised as a teenager could throw to him at the derby if he ever made it to the majors.
"When I was a kid, I made a promise to (Friedlein) when he was throwing me batting practice," Alonso said. "It's one of those things when you're a kid and you kind of daydream and wish something would happen."
Regardless of reasoning, the goal of every pitcher at the 2023 derby will be to consistently deliver easy-to-hit home run bombs. With that, here's everything you need to know about the Home Run Derby pitchers and their relationship to the contestants:
Who is pitching at 2023 Home Run Derby?
Below is the list of pitchers who will throw to their respective partners at the 2023 Home Run Derby, in order of their seeding in the bracket:
| Batter | Pitcher | Relationship |
| Luis Robert Jr. | Luis Sierra | White Sox bullpen coach |
| Pete Alonso | Mike Friedlein | Alonso's youth baseball coach |
| Mookie Betts | Clayton McCullough | Dodgers first base coach |
| Adolis Garcia | Tony Beasley | Rangers third base coach |
| Randy Arozarena | Tomas Francisco | Rays field coordinator, former catcher |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | John Schneider | Blue Jays manager |
| Julio Rodriguez | Franmy Peña | Rodríguez’s childhood friend |
| Adley Rutschman | Randy Rutschman | Rutschman's father |
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Luis Sierra (Luis Robert Jr.)
Sierra will throw to Robert in the latter's derby debut. The two have chemistry: Sierra, a former White Sox bullpen catcher, throws to Robert during batting practice.
Aaron Myers (Pete Alonso)
Originally, Alonso had chosen to honor a childhood promise to his former youth baseball coach, Mike Friedlein, when he selected him as his pitcher for the 2023 derby. However, Alonso had to make a last-minute switch when Friedlein woke up Monday dealing with elbow soreness.
As such, Myers will draw in to replace Frieldein. Myers works as a "Major League Staff Assistant" with the Mets and throws batting practice to the team.
Clayton McCullough (Mookie Betts)
Both Betts and McCullough are making their derby debuts, so Monday's competition could see trial and error from both. That said, Betts told MLB.com that McCullough was his "favorite coach ever" — hence his selection as derby pitcher.
"I'm pumped for him," McCullough said. "He's done so many things in his game. But for him to want to do something like this and step out from his norm — I think, you look at him compared to like (Aaron) Judge, (Shohei) Ohtani, and when you see Mookie Betts and what he'll be able to do at his size, I think for him to want to put himself out there and do it is cool and for him to ask me, I'm excited as well."
Tony Beasley (Adolis Garcia)
Garcia has not specified why he chose Beasley to throw to him at the derby, though he does throw during the Rangers' batting practice. Regardless, Garcia will look for Beasley to throw him the best lobs possible so he can beat his good friend and "brother" Randy Arozarena.
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Tomas Francisco (Randy Arozarena)
Arozarena's selection of Francisco as his derby pitcher may be somewhat of a surprise, considering he normally hits off Rays manager Kevin Cash. But Arozarena has put work in with the first-year field coordinator, including working with him on Saturday and Sunday ahead of the derby.
“I wanted to hit in his group so I can get used to the rhythm, where to pitch me and where I like it so we can both get a rhythm into it,” Arozarena said (via the Tampa Bay Times).
John Schneider (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.)
Schneider is one of the least-surprising pitchers of the 2023 Home Run Derby, considering he served the role in Guerrero's second-place finish to Alonso in 2019. That year, Guerrero set derby records for most home runs in a single round (40) and most total home runs (91).
"He put on a good show last time," Schneider said (via MLB.com) "I think he's a few years wiser and more mature with making the decision to do it or not do it. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off in Cleveland. He's always had the knack for things like that and rises to the occasion."
Franmy Peña (Julio Rodriguez)
Peña will be Rodriguez's pitcher at the derby for the second year running, just as he did at Dodgers Stadium in 2022. Rodriguez hit 81 home runs across three rounds with Peña throwing to him, so it's clear the partnership worked.
Randy Rutschman (Adley Rutschman)
The easiest decision of the Home Run Derby belongs to Portland, Ore. native and Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. He has spoken at length about the possibility of competing with his dad at the event, and didn't pass up on the first chance he got.
"Easiest decision," Rutschman told MLB.com of asking his dad to pitch. "It’s one of those things you have to do.
Added Rutschman: "It's just one of those things you dream about as a kid. To be able to do it with my dad, it’s awesome."