MLB 2026 Home Run Derby Set for Philadelphia with New Swing-Count Format
The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby is scheduled for Monday, July 13 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. For the first time the event will stream exclusively on Netflix and will also be carried live on SiriusXM and MLB Network Radio.
MLB has replaced the long‑standing timed format with a swing‑count system: 20 swings in Round 1, then 15 swings in the semifinals and final. All swings count, and a player who homers on his final allotted swing receives extra swings until he misses. Ties in Round 1 are broken by longest home run distance; later rounds use three‑swing swing‑offs.
The prize pool totals $2.5 million. The winner receives $1 million, the runner‑up $500 000, the remaining six participants $150 000 each, and an additional $100 000 is awarded for the longest home run of the night.
Eight sluggers will compete: Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, New York’s Ben Rice, St. Louis’s Jordan Walker, Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, Chicago White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami and Boston Red Sox’s Willson Contreras. Schwarber entered as the betting favorite, with odds around +310‑+340, followed by Harper and Caminero.
The new format, high‑stakes prize money, and Netflix streaming make the 2026 Derby a focal point of MLB’s All‑Star Week.