The 2026 Home Run Derby is taking on a different look, with Netflix carrying the event exclusively for the first time and MLB once again changing the format. The setting and the rules may be new, but the premise stays the same: eight hitters, a pile of power, and a $1 million prize on the line.
This year’s field brings together two Phillies favorites in front of a home crowd, last year’s runner-up, a rookie debut, and a few other big bats who have spent the season making noise. The bracket is set, the odds are out, and Kyle Schwarber sits at the top of both.
The opening round includes Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox, Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, Junior Caminero of the Rays, Bryce Harper of the Phillies, Jordan Walker of the Cardinals, Willson Contreras of the Red Sox, Jac Caglianone of the Royals and Ben Rice of the Yankees. From there, the top four home run totals advance into a seeded semifinal bracket, with the No. 1 seed facing No. 4 and No. 2 meeting No.
- The winners move on to the finals.
MLB has scrapped the old timer-based setup again. Instead, hitters get a fixed number of swings: 20 in the first round, then 15 in the semifinals and 15 in the finals.
There’s no bonus round anymore, but a player who goes deep on his final swing can keep going until he fails to homer. If Round 1 ends in a tie, home run distance decides it.
If the semifinals or finals are tied, a three-swing swing-off breaks the deadlock.
The league’s goal with the new setup is clear: less fatigue, more time to actually watch the balls fly. Under the old format, hitters were often forced into a sprint that left them worn down and made it harder for fans to enjoy the shots in the air.
The Phillies will have the loudest support in the building, and they’ve got two names in the mix. Harper, who won the Derby at Nationals Park in 2018, returns as the event’s only former champion. Schwarber, who finished second to Harper that year, is back for his third Derby appearance.
Willson Contreras is the other player in the field with more than 100 career home runs. He’s in the first year of what the source describes as one of the best seasons of his career with the Red Sox, and he gives Boston its first Derby participant since 2011.
Junior Caminero returns after finishing as last year’s runner-up and comes in hot after a huge finish to the first half. He has 28 home runs this season and 80 for his career, even though he just turned 23 earlier in July.
Two other names arrive with momentum of their own. Jac Caglianone and Jordan Walker have both turned around disappointing starts to their major league careers. Caglianone has hit 10 home runs since the start of June, while Walker is carrying an OPS just under .900.
Ben Rice represents the Yankees after hitting 29 home runs and helping carry an otherwise uneven New York lineup. Munetaka Murakami, meanwhile, makes his derby debut for the White Sox just days after coming off the injured list, after hitting 20 home runs over the first two months of the season.
The betting market has Schwarber as the favorite at +330, with Caminero next at +425. Murakami is listed at +500, followed by Caglianone at +650.
Walker is at +700, while Harper and Rice are both +850. Contreras has the longest odds in the field.
That favorite tag comes with the usual Derby warning label. Schwarber’s power and the setting make him an obvious choice, but this event has a way of punishing the chalk.
Even so, the combination of his bat, the Phillies crowd and the revised format has plenty of people pointing his way. Two of the predictions in the source do exactly that, both calling for Schwarber to win it all.
In Other News...
White Sox Just Took Another Intriguing Bat Fans Will Worry About
The White Sox added another interesting bat to the pipeline with their No. 345 pick, taking Vanderbilt junior Braden Holcomb as part of a draft class that continues to lean into upside. Holcomb brings speed and the kind of versatility teams like to dream on, with experience at multiple positions and enough athleticism to keep evaluators engaged even if the profile is still very much in progress.
What makes him a tougher read is the hit tool, which has been the main reason he slid to this point. Chicago will have to sort through the swing and decide where he fits defensively, and the early plan could include a stop in Kannapolis as the organization works through both sides of his development. For a White Sox system that can afford to bet on tools, Holcomb is exactly the sort of player who can look intriguing now and still leave fans wondering how the whole package comes together. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Draft Pick Carries A Franchise Connection Fans Will Feel
The White Sox added another notable name to their draft class when they took shortstop Landon Thome with the No. 33 overall pick in Competitive Balance Round A. He joined a group that also included UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky at No. 1 overall and second baseman Cole Prosek in the second round, giving Chicago a mix of high-end talent and infield depth as it worked through the early part of the draft.
Thomes selection carried an extra layer of familiarity for White Sox fans, even before the front office got to the rest of its board. Chicago had just picked up that selection in a Friday trade, and the club moved on Thome before its next slot came around, a sign it did not want to leave the board to chance with a player it clearly valued. [Read more 🡒]
First-Place White Sox Just Changed The Conversation Around This Season
The conversation around the White Sox looks a lot different now than it did when they reached the All-Star break at 32-65. A 9-1 win over the Athletics pushed Chicago to 50-45 and into first place in the American League Central, a stunning turnaround for a club that spent the first half buried in the standings and now has 67 games left to prove this surge is real.
There is still plenty to sort out, but the mood around the team and manager has clearly shifted from survival mode to something more ambitious. Noah Schultz also gave the White Sox a lift by earning his first win since May 1, ending a six-start winless streak, and Chicago will keep trying to turn a hot stretch into a position it has not had in a while: a lead worth protecting. [Read more 🡒]