Twins' Sano to take part in Home Run Derby in Miami
Miguel Sano is ready to throw his bat in the ring to challenge Giancarlo Stanton at the 2017 MLB Home Run Derby at Marlins Park.
The Minnesota Twins slugger will indeed be one of the seven competitors opposing Stanton at this year's event, the team announced.
Few players boast the kind of raw power that Sano brings to the plate in every at-bat. He has 18 home runs on the season, but that's not the most impressive part.
No qualified batter has hit the ball as hard as frequently as Sano. Heading into Wednesday, a cool 50 percent of his contact registers as hard, according to Fangraphs.
This will be the first derby appearance for Sano, and the first participation by a member of the Twins since Brian Dozier in 2014. He'll look to outclass his teammate, though, since Dozier hit only two long balls before being ousted following the first round.
Only one Twins slugger has ever won the Home Run Derby since its inception in 1985. Justin Morneau defeated Josh Hamilton in the 2008 finals by a score of 5-3. He's fortunate that it wasn't accumulative, because that was the year Hamilton smoked 28 homers in the opening round alone.
The 2017 Home Run Derby will air on Monday, July 10.