As The Lonely Island — channeling Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco in a 2019 Netflix hip-hop parody — once triumphantly declared: “Let’s bash.”
The 2026 MLB All-Star Week festivities kick off Monday night in Philadelphia with the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, pitting eight of the game’s most prolific power threats in a good old-fashioned slugfest.
This season’s derby, held at Citizens Bank Park at 8 p.m. ET, will revert to a swing-based format in an intriguing shakeup. No timer. No outs. No bonus rounds. Players will begin each round with a finite number of swings — 20 in Round 1 and 15 in Rounds 2 and 3 — but if they homer on their last hack of any round, they can keep going until they don’t leave the yard.
With the most home-run potential up front, let’s break down which slugger will hit the most bombs in the opening round.
Who will hit the most home runs in Round 1?
The Field (Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook):
- Kyle Schwarber PHI | 32 HR (+340)
- Junior Caminero, TBR | 28 HR (+500)
- Munetaka Murakami, CWS | 20 HR (+550)
- Jac Caglianone, KCR | 15 HR (+550)
- Bryce Harper, PHI | 20 HR (+550)
- Jordan Walker, STL | 22 HR (+700)
- Ben Rice, NYY | 29 HR (+950)
- Willson Contreras, BOS | 20 HR (+1100)
Best Bet: Junior Caminero (+500)
The man who tied for the most home runs in the first round of last season’s derby is back in action Monday night — and he might just be the hottest hitter on the planet.
Budding Rays superstar Junior Caminero is running it back in the Home Run Derby after a remarkable performance last year in Atlanta. At just 22 years old, the right-handed slugger tied Byron Buxton with 21 bombs in the opening round before storming to a second-place finish against eventual MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh.
With the 2025 home run king out of the picture, Caminero is looking to bounce back and capture this year’s derby crown. That mission starts with a fiery first round.
Caminero has crushed 28 home runs in 2026 — tied for fourth-most in baseball and third among hitters in the derby — and ranks in MLB’s top 10 percent in hard-hit rate (93rd percentile), average exit velocity (95th), and bat speed (100th). He also enters Monday night on a ridiculous run of form. Caminero has blasted an MLB-high 13 home runs in 19 games since June 23, a scalding stretch that included 11 bombs in 11 contests.
We’ve already seen Caminero set the tone in the Home Run Derby. With the way that balls are flying off his bat right now and a motivation to redeem himself, he’s well-positioned to get off to another blazing start Monday night.
2026 Home Run Derby Format Breakdown
- Swing-based format — no timer, outs, or bonus rounds
- Round 1: 20 swings
- Rounds 2 and 3: 15 swings
- Each swing counts toward tally, homer or not
- If a player homers on last swing in any round, can keep going until they don’t homer
- Tiebreakers:
- Round 1: HR distance
- Rounds 2 and 3: three-swing swing-offs
