PENSACOLA, Fla., - Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Reds) outfielder Gabriel Guerrero wion the Southern League All-Star Home Run Derby Monday night. The 2017 All-Star game is scheduled tonight (Tuesday), however, there is heavy rain in the forecast.
Guerrero downed 19-year-old Mississippi (Braves) outfielder Ronald Acuna in the finals that included two one-minute overtimes.
The two All-Stars tied all three times, smacking seven, then three and finally two homers. The tiebreaker was the most overall, which went to Guerrero, who knocked 29 in all three rounds.
The Blue Wahoo player is the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero, who hit 449 home runs in his 16-year Big League career, including a season-high 44 in 2000 with the Montreal Expos.
Guerrero, who was drenched by All-Star teammates after winning the first Home Run Derby in his seven-year professional career, said he had blisters on his hands.
"It was special," the 23-year-old Guerrero said of winning at Blue Wahoos Stadium in front of the hometown crowd. "We put a good show on for the fans."
This season, his first in the Cincinnati Reds organization, he has 0 home runs, 25 RBIs and is hitting .274.
The Reds picked up Guerrero in November 2016 off waivers and invited him to Spring Training this year.
The Dominican has played with two other teams, including the Seattle Mariners, who signed him as a non-drafted free agent in January 2011. He also played in the Arizona Diamondback organization playing for its Double-A Mobile BayBears affiliate the past two seasons.
Guerrero clobbered eight home runs to win the first round of the Home Run Derby over Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) outfielder John Norwood. He then added nine more to defeat Jackson General first baseman Kevin Cron (Angels) who leads the Southern League with 14 home runs.
Guerrero admitted he had a home field advantage with the crowd of about 2,000 erupting in deafening cheers every time he crushed one out of the ballpark. Plus, his Pensacola teammates were cheering him on.