Who says not all Home Run Derby participants are All-Stars?! As far as the entire baseball world is concerned, Yoenis Cespedes is a bonafide slugger and he should be playing in the overblown exhibition after absolutely dominating the competition in the MLB Home Run Derby on Monday night.
Dude kicked things off with 17 blasts in the first round, which is more than any other participant hit in the first two rounds combined. So Cespedes really didn’t even have to play Round 2, but he sent six more balls into the Citi Field stands for good measure.
Cespedes was the last pick by Robinson Cano for the AL team, but the youngster knocked out his captain and then tied Cano’s third-best mark in the history of the Derby with 32 total bombs. That was obviously good enough to outlast Bryce Harper, who managed 24 total with exactly eight in all three rounds.
Obviously Chris Davis‘ early exit in the second round after his record-setting home run pace this year was disappointing, but the Baltimore Orioles‘ slugger has his eyes set on the real long ball prize this year. Cespedes has the belt for the derby now and although he may not be in contention for the home run record now, there’s no doubt he’ll be in the mix very soon.
