Home Run Derby 2026: Previewing the Derby field, from Kyle Schwarber to Munetaka Murakami to Junior Caminero

PHILADELPHIA — It’s a bad week to be a baseball in South Philadelphia.

Yes, dear friends, MLB’s annual big fly bacchanal is almost here. The 2026 Home Run Derby begins at 8 p.m. ET Monday. This is, reliably, the most whimsical, joy-oriented evening on the baseball calendar. It exists because it is fun. There is a winner but no losers.

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That’s all true no matter the year, the venue or the entrants. But this upcoming edition, for a multitude of reasons, should be a uniquely scintillating contest.

The field itself is a banger, a diverse, enthralling collection of very large and powerful individuals. The hometown tandem of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber is the main attraction; they are the first set of teammates to participate since 2018. Both are beloved in Philadelphia, but a showdown could produce a friendly tilt for the ultimate spotlight.

And beyond the Phillies, storylines abound. Rays dynamo Junior Caminero is looking to avenge his second-place finish from last season. Japanese rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami is participating fresh off the injured list. Both the Yankees (Ben Rice) and Red Sox (Willson Contreras) have a representative. There’s a radically different format for the first time in a decade. Oh, and Netflix is broadcasting the event for the first time. Let’s dig in.

The format

New carrier, old format.

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This year’s edition, after nearly 30 years on ESPN, will be streamed exclusively on Netflix. Hopefully it’s better than the final season of “Stranger Things.” Expect a cinematic broadcast, similar to how Netflix handled its first foray into baseball with this season’s Opening Night game between the Yankees and Giants.

Netflix’s involvement also initiated a restructuring of the Derby’s format. No longer will the event function on the clock-based system in use since 2016. Instead, MLB and Netflix opted to revive a version of the bygone outs-based system.

In the opening round, each of the eight participants will get 20 swings. A round cannot end on a home run, meaning that if a hitter catches fire late, he can keep going until he makes an out. Time itself is a nonfactor. Schwarber could, theoretically, hit big flies until the sun shrinks and we’re all raptured into oblivion. That might complicate things for Netflix, though.

The top four tallies then move on to the semifinals, in which players will be seeded and paired head-to-head based on their first-round totals (first vs. fourth, second vs. third). The second round is 15 swings instead of 20. The winners move onto the finals, where it’ll be 15 swings once again.

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There’s good and bad about the new, retro-style format. It’ll certainly be a less chaotic viewing experience. Gone are those frenetic final seconds of a round that often left hitters aerobically exhausted. There should be less reliance on the quality of the batting practice pitcher. Nobody will miss the complicated, convoluted bonus balls that were awarded based on home run distance. In short, the new framework is simpler.

It’s also ripe for a take-fest. Because hitters will no longer be timed, they could, theoretically, stand there not swinging until the sun shrinks and we’re all raptured into oblivion. So be warned: Things could drag a bit.

The ballpark

Citizens Bank Park is a long-ball paradise, a big-fly vending machine that consistently ranks in the top five in park-adjusted home run output. Crucially, the South Philly stadium is the single most active launching pad for left-handed sluggers, according to Baseball Savant’s Park Factors Leaderboard.

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That said, the tall wall in right field could turn a few of those lefty laser beams into outs, so guys should be focused on elevating and celebrating.

The contestants

Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

• 2026 home runs: 32 (first in MLB)

• Derby thrower: Rafael Peña, Phillies assistant hitting coach

At last year’s Midsummer Classic, Schwarber stole the show by blasting three homers on three swings to win the first-ever tie-breaking All-Star swing-off. It was a fantastic show. It was also a perfect preview of why Schwarber might be particularly well-suited to the Derby’s new, clock-less format. Selectivity and focus have helped the stout DH evolve into the game’s top pure slugger; those attributes should be more valuable in this contest than they used to be.

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This will be Schwarber’s third Derby appearance. He lost in shocking fashion to Albert Pujols in the first round in Los Angeles in 2022 and fell to Harper in the finals in D.C. back in 2018. A showdown rematch between the two hometown guys would be phenomenal theater.

Ben Rice, New York Yankees

• 2026 home runs: 29 (third)

• Derby thrower: Dan Rice, his dad

Yankees don’t compete in the Derby too often. Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s sorry showing last season was the first time a pinstriper had participated since Aaron Judge won it back in 2017.

Rice, enjoying a breakout offensive season in Judge’s injury absence, will, like Schwarber, benefit from the new format. The Ivy League lasher employs a very high-effort swing, the type that, under the timed system, would probably lead to exhaustion earlier than other competitors.

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Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals

• 2026 home runs: 22 (tied for 10th)

• Derby thrower: Kleininger Teran, Cardinals bullpen catcher

For years, the conversation around Walker revolved around some version of “imagine if this guy ever figures it out.” Well, he seems to have figured it out. Walker cranked just 27 homers across his first three seasons; he already has 22 this season. Only Junior Caminero has posted a higher average bat speed this season.

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

• 2026 home runs: 20 (tied for 18th)

• Derby thrower: Dino Ebel, Dodgers and Team USA third-base coach

This is the main attraction. Harper played coy at first, claiming he’d do the Derby only if he could find someone to pitch to him. Thankfully, he works in baseball, a relatively good place to find a batting practice pitcher.

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Harper’s pick, though, was something of a surprise. Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel, who shared a dugout with Harper for Team USA during the recent World Baseball Classic, will cross team lines to toss BP for the Phillies’ star. And Ebel is nails at it; he threw to Schwarber during the All-Star swing off last year.

This will be Harper’s first Derby since he won it in Washington D.C. as a National in 2018. That night was one of the most magical, limitless baseball-related evenings I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness. Harper exceeded the moment. When his final swing ended the proceedings, sending the Nats Park crowd into a frenzy, it felt like the dude was going to stick around forever. That obviously didn’t happen, but Harper is primed to put on another show in front of an adoring Philadelphia crowd.

Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox

• 2026 home runs: 20 (tied for 18th)

• Derby thrower: José David Flores, Red Sox interim bench coach

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Contreras will be the first Red Sox player to participate in the Derby since 2011 (David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez). It has been a tumultuous past few weeks for the frisky first baseman. He was overwhelmed with emotion, in tears in the dugout, following a homer in the days after the tragic earthquake that struck his home country, Venezuela.

Contreras then proceeded to get ejected two days in a row, a stretch that included a particularly unhinged, helmet-hurling display after some unfortunate words from Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli. The end result was a five-game suspension. Contreras has always been an expressive individual, which makes him perfect for the Derby stage. Expect some cool moments between Willson and his brother, William, who’s also an All-Star.

Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox

• 2026 home runs: 20 (tied for 18th)

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What a past few months it has been for the 26-year-old. Murakami journeyed stateside from Japan last winter in search of a hefty, long-term contract but had to settle for a two-year pact with the White Sox. After being overlooked by most MLB teams, he proceeded to obliterate baseballs for all of April and May before landing on the IL due to a hamstring strain. He missed more than a month, returning to big-league play only this past Friday. That made his inclusion in the Derby — Murakami was the final slugger announced — something of a surprise.

But Murakami’s presence is a big, big deal for this event. He’s a megastar in Japan, which should help the Derby do big numbers across the Pacific. More importantly, Murakami is a delightful provider of skyscraping moon shots. He has the highest average home run launch angle among the competitors.

Jac Caglianone, Kansas City Royals

• 2026 home runs: 15 (tied for 48th)

• Derby thrower: Jeff Caglianone, his dad

• Longest 2026 homer: 444 feet, June 21 vs. STL

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The only participant who won’t appear in the All-Star Game, “Cags” is a worthwhile addition to the Derby field. Kansas City’s young slugger is one of the few humans on Earth who has ever hit a baseball more than 120 mph in a game with a wood bat. That should result in some moon-scraping shots. Cags in the Derby might be similar to Oneil Cruz’s performance in last year’s event, when the Pirate went from “who’s this guy?” to “oh my goodness!” in the span of a few hours.

Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays

• 2026 home runs: 28 (fourth)

• Derby thrower: Tomas Francisco, Rays MLB field coordinator

We might look back on this week as Caminero’s All-Star Game™. There’s a notable void of stardom on the American League side, one that Tampa Bay’s third baseman is more than willing to fill.

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Caminero finished second to Cal Raleigh in last season’s Derby, despite a very impressive 15-homer tally in the finals. In the year since, the owner of MLB’s fastest swing has blossomed into one of the game’s best hitters, a legitimate MVP candidate on a first-place club.

Prediction: Schwarber over Harper in the final