Monday night’s MLB Home Run Derby was a major success under the new format, and the contestants put on a show.
Todd Frazier took home the hardware after a thrilling showdown with rookie phenom Joc Pederson in the final round. The timed, bracketed format made for perhaps the most exciting derby of all time and benefitted from a terrific group of players.
Now that next year’s Home Run Derby might actually be worth looking forward to, we got to thinking about players who would make for an even more captivating contest. Of course, we’d love for guys like Pederson, Frazier, Josh Donaldson and Albert Pujols to make a comeback, but here are eight players we didn’t see during Monday’s derby but would be fun to watch next year.
Miguel Sano (Minnesota Twins)
Sano has only played in 11 big-league games so far in his young career, but by this time next year he could be blasting Joc Pederson-like homers with relative ease. The 22-year-old is one of the most coveted up-and-coming power threats in baseball, and as a rookie he’d make next year’s derby that much more exciting.
About Justin Leger