MINNEAPOLIS — Baseball’s newest sensation is stepping onto baseball’s biggest summer stage, and Cal Raleigh is bringing his family onto the field with him.

The Mariners catcher has accepted an invitation to participate in the MLB Home Run Derby on July 14 as part of his first All-Star Game experience in Atlanta, and Big Dumper has asked his father and his little brother to help him.

Raleigh’s dad, Todd, has agreed to pitch to Cal during the Home Run Derby, and he’s trying to make arrangements to allow his 15-year-old brother, Todd Jr., to serve as the catcher during the event.

“It’s a cool opportunity, and I’m going to enjoy it,” Raleigh said Thursday inside the Mariners visitors clubhouse at Target Field. “It’s cool to be able to mark this off the bucket list.”

Raleigh, 28, is on his way to having the best season by a catcher in MLB history. He leads the majors with 32 home runs and 69 RBIs in 78 games entering Thursday, the most ever by a catcher and a switch-hitter before the All-Star break.

He’s entered the MVP conversation alongside Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, and he’ll try to become the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby. He said he’s considering hitting from both sides of the plate during the Derby.

Raleigh grew up around the game with his father, a college catcher at Western Carolina who went on to become the head coach at his alma mater and then at Tennessee.

“He’s thrown (batting practice) to me my whole life, so he’s pretty good,” Raleigh said of his dad. “But he’s been throwing a lot because my brother’s doing the whole travel ball (circuit) in Georgia right now. He says his arm’s in shape. I said, ‘It better be.’ ”

On Sept. 30, 2022, Raleigh hit one of the most iconic home runs in franchise history to end the Mariners’ 21-year playoff drought.

He’s led all MLB catchers in home runs in each of the past three seasons, but he’s elevated his game — and his national profile — to another stratosphere this season, becoming a more complete hitter. He has career bests in every offensive category (including stolen bases, leading all catchers with nine).

“I think you learn yourself, your swing and the league,” he said. “You learn what you do well, and you lean into that as a player. I don’t think necessarily you’re trying to (hit homers), but it fits into what I do and my swing, and what kind of player I am.”

Raleigh expects many more family and friends — his mom, Stephanie, and his sisters Emma Grace and Carley, among them — to attend the All-Star festivities at Atlanta’s Truist Park.

It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for Cal, who went to high school in Sylva, N.C., less than a three-hour drive from Atlanta.

“I spent a lot of time there (in Atlanta) growing up playing baseball,” he said. “I feel like every every week there in the summer, I was there playing baseball. … It’s kind of crazy how it comes back around.”

Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. is the only other player so far confirmed to be part of the Home Run Derby field in Atlanta.

Former Mariners slugger Teoscar Hernandez won the Derby in Texas last year.

Raleigh is the eighth Mariners player to participate in the Home Run Derby, joining Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (eight times) and Edgar Martinez (2000), along with Jay Buhner (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Bret Boone (2001, ’03), Robinson Canó (2016) and Julio Rodríguez (2022-23).

Griffey holds the record with three Derby titles (1994, ’98 and ’99), and Rodríguez holds the single-round home run record (41) under the current format, set in front of his home crowd at T-Mobile Park in Seattle in 2023.

Raleigh won his first Gold Glove in 2024 and also won the Platinum Glove award as the best defensive player, regardless of position, in the American League.

He’s the favorite to start at catcher for the AL in the All-Star game in Atlanta. He received more than 1.9 million votes in the most recent update on fan balloting — only Judge (2.7 million) received more among AL position players.

In a newer format, MLB will hold a second round of voting starting Monday, pitting the top two vote-getters at each position in a head-to-head showdown. Raleigh and Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk will vie for the AL starting catcher gig.

©2025 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.