The 2026 Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, is soon to be upon us. Every year, the Derby is one of the most popular attractions of All-Star week and the prelude to the Midsummer Classic itself on Tuesday.
This year's Home Run Derby will operate under a different format, in which participants are no longer timed but rather get a set number of swings, much like how it used to be. This year's field of eight Derby participants includes two who suit up for the host Phillies.
Odds via Caesars
- Kyle Schwarber, Phillies (+310)
- Junior Caminero, Rays (+325)
- Munetaka Murakami, White Sox (+500)
- Bryce Harper, Phillies (+525)
- Jordan Walker, Cardinals (+650)
- Jac Caglianone, Royals (+700)
- Ben Rice, Yankees (+850)
- Willson Contreras, Red Sox (+1300)
How to watch
Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
When: Monday, July 13 | Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
TV/Streaming: Netflix
Format
First round
- Eight players take 20 swings each.
- If they homer on their 20th swing, they can continue swinging until they make an out.
- Ties broken by longest home run distance.
- Top four home run totals advance. Those four players are seeded 1-4 based on their homer totals.
Just so it's clear, if a player hits a home run on his 20th swing, he then earns what amounts to a 21st swing. And if he hits a home run on his 21st swing, he gets a 22nd swing. On and on he can go until he makes an out.
Second round
- Head-to-head matchups based on seeding: No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3
- Four players take 15 swings each.
- If they homer on their 15th swing, they can continue swinging until they make an out.
- Ties broken with three extra swings each.
The two winners of the head-to-head matchups advance to the final.
Finals
- Two players take 15 swings each.
- If they homer on their 15th swing, they can continue swinging until they make an out.
- Ties broken with three extra swings each.
Last year, Cal Raleigh of the Mariners won the Derby, which means we won't have a back-to-back champ this time around. It is, however, possible that we'll get a repeat winner. Harper won the 2019 Home Run Derby as a member of the Nationals, and coincidentally, he topped Schwarber, his current Phillies teammate, in the finals that year. Just four sluggers -- Pete Alonso, Yoenis Cespedes, Prince Fielder, and Ken Griffey Jr. -- have won the Derby more than once. Griffey Jr. has a record three Derby titles. Schwarber enters the 2026 Derby as the MLB leader in home runs. Caminero finished runner-up to Raleigh last year, so he'll be looking to take the next step this time around.
Another record to watch? Juan Soto in 2021 holds the Statcast era record for longest Derby home run at 520 feet. Not surprisingly, a number of this year's entrants are capable of big distance. There's an "asterisk," though. Soto's colossal blast came at a mile above sea level in Coors Field. The record for longest non-Coors home run in the Derby belongs to the preeminent slugger of his era, Aaron Judge of the Yankees. In the 2017 Derby at Marlins Park in Miami, Judge hit one 513 feet, according to Statcast. Judge won the Derby that year. Going back to the pre-Statcast days when cruder estimates were used, Sammy Sosa at the 2002 Derby at Miller Park hit one an (estimated) 524 feet. He finished runner-up.
