2026 Home Run Derby: Full Participants List

Here is a full list of the participants in the Home Run Derby, as well as information on the new rule change for 2026.

Phillies sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper will look to put on a show in the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 2026 Home Run Derby is a week away and the entrants are starting to roll in. So, as a helpful guide, we've decided to track all of the participants as they arrive, while also breaking down an important rule change in this year's Derby, which takes place on July 13 at 8 p.m. ET exclusively on Netflix.

Here is every player who has committed to participating in the 2026 Home Run Derby.

Full List of Every Player in the 2026 Home Run Derby

Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays

Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, in the midst of a red-hot June at the dish in which he's homered 11 times in 12 games, announced via Instagram he'd be participating in the Derby at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Caminero, who belted 45 home runs in an All-Star campaign last season, participated in the Derby for the first time in his career and wowed fans, falling just short of becoming the youngest player to win the event when he lost 18-15 in the final to Cal Raleigh. Caminero, still just 23 years old, again has a chance to become the youngest player to win the Home Run Derby.

Ben Rice, New York Yankees

Rice, who had previously expressed interest in participating in the Derby, made it official via his Instagram on Tuesday. As part of his announcement, Rice said that his father Dan, who was a pitcher on Brown University's baseball team back in the 1980s, will be returning to the mound to pitch to him in the Derby. Rice is in the midst of a career year in which he ranks among the top-five sluggers in the game in home runs and slugging percentage and top-20 in barrel rate and average exit velocity. Rice is vying to become the fifth Yankee to win the Home Run Derby, potentially joining the likes of Tino Martinez, Jason Giambi, Robinson Canó and teammate Aaron Judge.

Jac Caglianone, Kansas City Royals

Caglianone entered the conversation as a potential Home Run Derby entrant after a monster month of June that saw him belt nine home runs while slashing .309/.387/.649. He announced his intention to participate on Wednesday. Caglianone hits the ball as hard as anyone in the game, ranking top-10 in barrel rate, average exit velocity and hard-hit rate. Plus, the former Florida slugger who once hit a 500-foot home run during his time in Gainesville has continued to hit tape-measure shots in the big leagues, as 11 of his 14 homers have rated as no-doubters via Statcast and his average home run distance of 418 feet is tied for the longest in the majors by players who have hit a minimum of 10 homers, per MLB.com. Caglianone, 23, also has a chance to become the youngest to ever win the Derby, just like fellow participant Caminero.

Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox

Contreras on Wednesday accepted MLB's invite to the Derby and will appear in the event for the first time in his career. The Red Sox first baseman has belted 20 home runs already this season, just four shy of his career-high of 24 set back in 2019 and is barreling the baseball better than ever before. Contreras, who was also added to the American League's roster to replace the injured Vladimir Guerrero Jr., will now be quite busy during All-Star weekend. He is seeking to become the first Red Sox player to win the Derby since David Ortiz in 2010.

Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals

Walker on Thursday accepted MLB's invitation to join the Home Run Derby, becoming the first Cardinals player to do so since Albert Pujols in 2022. The Stone Mountain, Ga., native is in the midst of a breakout year, particularly as a power hitter, as he's already belted a career-high 21 homers—and counting—while pacing for a career-best .534 slugging percentage. The 6' 6” Walker's power is prodigious: He ranks in the 90th percentile or better in barrel rate, average exit velocity and hard-hit rate and owns one of the longest home runs of the season, a 454-foot blast on June 13. Walker has a chance to become the first Cardinals player to win the Derby.

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

Harper announced via Instagram on Thursday that he’ll participate in the Home Run Derby in front of his home team’s fans in Philadelphia. It’ll be his first time back in the Derby since 2018, when he beat now-teammate Kyle Schwarber as a member of the Nationals at Nationals Park. Harper told SI’s Tom Verducci last week that he would participate if he was selected as an All-Star and if he could find the right pitcher—his father pitched to him in his two previous Derby appearances, but no longer throws batting practice with his son. Harper seems to have found an ideal candidate. This year, the Phillies first baseman has launched 20 home runs, though he’s yet to leave the yard in July.

Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

Schwarber confirmed to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci that he would participate in the Derby as long as he’s healthy and selected to the All-Star Game. Schwarber, who was selected as an All-Star and confirmed his health was trending in the right direction, on Friday announced that he'd be entering the Derby, joining his Phillies teammate in Harper. Schwarber leads baseball in homers, is a two-time Derby participant and, like Harper, will be hitting in front of the home Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park. Schwarber and Harper, then of the Nationals, faced off in the final of the 2018 Home Run Derby, with the latter emerging victorious. Could the two have a showdown again, this time as Phillies teammates?

Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox

There was some uncertainty about Murakami's status given that he had missed 35 games due to a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. But the White Sox slugger, who was also named an All-Star replacement, is back healthy and accepted MLB's invite to the Home Run Derby. The Japanese slugger has put his power on full display, as he he has belted 20 home runs while ranking in the 98th percentile or better in barrel rate, average exit velocity and hard-hit rate. In other words, he crushes baseballs. Murakami has a chance to become just the second White Sox player to win the Derby, joining Frank Thomas in 1995.

Player	Participated in HRD Before?	Home Runs	Average Exit Velocity (mph)	Max Exit Velocity (mph)
Junior Caminero	Yes	28	93.2	116.9
Ben Rice	No	29	92.1	110.9
Jac Caglianone	No	15	93.0	116.1
Willson Contreras	No	20	90.6	114.4
Jordan Walker	No	22	94.2	116.6
Bryce Harper	Yes	20	90.1	113.5
Kyle Schwarber	Yes	32	93.4	113.2
Munetaka Murakami	No	20	94.1	114.1

Home Run Derby participants by the numbers

With the field of eight sluggers set, let's take a deeper statistical dive into the participants for the 2026 Home Run Derby. We'll rank the sluggers in a series of Statcast metrics, first with average bat speed

Player	Avg. Bat Speed (mph)
Junior Caminero	79.9
Jordan Walker	79.2
Jac Caglianone	77.3
Kyle Schwarber	77.1
Willson Contreras	77.0
Munetaka Murakami	75.2
Bryce Harper	74.3
Ben Rice	72.6

Here's a look at the eight sluggers ranked by barrel rate.

Player	Barrel Rate (%)
Munetaka Murakami	20.0
Kyle Schwarber	19.3
Ben Rice	14.9
Jac Caglianone	14.7
Willson Contreras	14.2
Jordan Walker	14.1
Junior Caminero	13.6
Bryce Harper	11.3

Finally, we'll take a look at the Home Run Derby participants ranked by their hard-hit percentages, another key metric when evaluating home run hitters.

Player	Hard-Hit %
Munetaka Murakami	59.2
Jac Caglianone	56.0
Kyle Schwarber	53.1
Junior Caminero	51.6
Jordan Walker	51.5
Ben Rice	47.6
Willson Contreras	46.7
Bryce Harper	46.2

Home Run Derby rule changes explained

After several years of deploying a timer-based format for each round of the Derby, MLB is ditching that approach and will utilize a swing-based format in 2026. Instead of a certain amount of time to hit home runs per round, hitters will only be allowed a certain number of swings, which harkens back to the out-based format that was used before 2015.

Hitters will get 20 swings in round one, and 15 swings each in the second round and final round. Each swing counts towards the allotment whether it results in a home run or not. If a player homers on the last swing of a round, they are allowed to keep going until they do not homer. Ties in the first round will be broken by home run distance, and by three-swing swing-offs in rounds two and three.

Other than that, the Derby will follow the same format, with the top four home run hitters advancing to the second round, where they'll be seeded based on the number of homers they hit in the first round. Then, they'll face off head-to-head to determine the matchup in the final round.

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