Miners selected for annual ABL Home Run Derby and all-star game

PALMER — The 2018 Alaska Baseball League Home Run Derby will feature the defending champion and the league’s current home run leader.

And both are Mat-Su Miners.

Nick Brooks and Spencer Henson will represent the league-leading Miners in the annual derby, slated to start Sunday at 1 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium in Anchorage.

Brooks’ participation comes less than a week after his return to the team.

“We’re really happy to have him back up here with us,” Miners head coach Ben Taylor said.

Brooks, who helped Mat-Su win its second straight ABL title last summer, capped his collegiate career at Gonzaga earlier in the year. Late last week, a spot opened on the Mat-Su roster. Miners general manager Pete Christopher called Brooks to offer him a spot on the team. Brooks caught a flight to Anchorage, and made his season debut with Mat¬-Su on July 9. Brooks, who can play a number of positions for the Miners, has three walks, two hits and a run in his first three games49 this summer.

“It’s great to have him back. He knows how the league goes. He’s had some success up here, and knows what it takes,” Taylor said.

Brooks belted 13 dingers in the final round to win the 2018 derby.

Brooks and Henson will be working for the Mat-Su three-peat. Former Mat-Su outfielder Cam Montgomery won the derby in 2016. In all, four different Miners have won the derby since 2011. Former Miners Adam Martin and Gio Brusa were also derby champs.

Henson currently leads the ABL with five home runs. Henson also leads the league with 23 RBI and is second with a .349 batting average.

“He’s played as well as anyone in the league,” Taylor said of Henson, who also helped Mat-Su win a league title last summer.

Henson is coming off a stellar sophomore season at Oral Roberts. The first baseman, who also can pitch, won the Summit League triple crown. He led his conference with a .373 batting average, nine home runs and 50 RBI.

Henson is also one of a dozen Miners selected to play in the annual ABL All-Star Game, which follows the home run derby Sunday in Anchorage.

The of Mat-Su all-stars also includes pitchers Nathan Bock, Bryce Tassin, Ian Churchill, Josh Haley and Jonathan Guardado; infielders Caleb Van Blake, Drew Swift and Tyler Bosetti; outfielder Kona Quiggle; outfielder and catcher Austin Pinorini; and catcher Aaron Walters.

The group has helped the Miners post a 21-12 record in their first 33 games of the season. Mat-Su holds a three-game lead at the top of the ABL.

“It’s a real honor for sure,” Taylor said. “It really shows they’ve taken advantage of the opportunity up here in Alaska, and have become Alaska Baseball League All-Stars.”

The derby and all-star game is part of the ABL’s Major League Baseball Showcase, a three-day event designed to display all of the league’s talent in one venue. The five ABL teams play two days of nonleague action at Mulcahy before the derby and all-star game on the final day. Scouts from most Major League Baseball organizations attend every year.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.