Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today we have a special Home Run Derby edition of the newsletter.
We're just a few hours away from the Home Run Derby. Before the dingers start flying out of Citizens Bank Park, we wanted to give you a little primer on the Derby contestants.
First things first: Here's the official batting order for the Derby.
Each slugger is listed with their first half home run total, and if you want to watch their longest home runs, we've got that, too.
Willson Contreras (Red Sox) -- 20 HR
Longest HR of 2026: 449 feet. Career: 491 feet
Jordan Walker (Cardinals) -- 22 HR
Longest HR of 2026/career: 459 feet
Jac Caglianone (Royals) -- 15 HR
Longest HR of 2026: 444 feet. Career: 466 feet
- Kyle Schwarber (Phillies) -- 32 HR
Longest HR of 2026: 460 feet. Career: 488 feet
- Ben Rice (Yankees) -- 29 HR
Longest HR of 2026: 433 feet. Career: 435 feet
- Junior Caminero (Rays) -- 28 HR
Longest HR of 2026/career: 463 feet
Munetaka Murakami (White Sox) -- 20 HR
Longest HR of 2026/career: 451 feet
- Bryce Harper (Phillies) -- 20 HR
Longest HR of 2026: 457 feet. Statcast era: 473 feet
Which one of those eight guys will win it all? Here are the key stats to make the case for each Home Run Derby participant:
Willson Contreras
Contreras has the longest career homer of any hitter in the 2026 Derby field -- the 491-footer he smashed high off the Wrigley Field scoreboard in the 2017 playoffs. But even almost a decade later, he can still let it rip. Contreras' 77 mph average bat speed in 2026 is sixth best among right-handed hitters, and so is his 70.9% fast-swing rate (that's how often he reaches a 75-plus mph bat speed).
Jordan Walker
Walker's bat speed is next best in the Majors after Caminero's, at 79.2 mph, and he turns those fast swings into top-tier exit velocities. Walker's 94.2 mph average exit velo this season is top-five in MLB, behind only Cruz, James Wood, Yordan Alvarez and Elly De La Cruz.
Jac Caglianone
Of the 130 hitters with at least 10 home runs this season, Caglianone is tied for the second-longest average home run distance at 414 feet, behind only Mickey Moniak, who plays at Coors Field. Almost three quarters of his home runs are no-doubters, giving him the fourth-highest rate of no-doubter home runs in the Majors.
Kyle Schwarber
Schwarber has hit 17 home runs 450 feet or farther since he joined the Phillies in 2022. He's one of only four hitters with 10 or more 450-footers, along with Shohei Ohtani (19), Aaron Judge (18) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (15). Schwarbs has eight 450-foot homers alone since the start of last season -- double any other hitter (Judge, Acuña and Oneil Cruz have four each).
Ben Rice
The way to win a Home Run Derby is to pull the ball in the air -- especially for a lefty slugger at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park -- and Rice is going to do that. His 19 pulled home runs this season are tied for third most in the Majors, behind only his fellow Derby contestant Schwarber (25) and All-Star Hunter Goodman (20).
Junior Caminero
It should be no surprise that elite bat speed produces electric Home Run Derby displays, and Caminero has the very best bat speed in the Majors. He ranks No. 1 this season with an average swing speed of 79.9 mph. That's even better than last season, when he finished as the Derby runner-up -- Caminero ranked second in 2025 with a 78.5 mph bat speed. Caminero is also tied for the most "no-doubters" this season -- home runs that would be gone at all 30 ballparks -- with 19.
Munetaka Murakami
Murakami's elite power has translated seamlessly from Japan to the Major Leagues. He ranks third in the Majors with a 20% barrel rate and second in the Majors with a 59.2% hard-hit rate. Murakami is one of only four hitters averaging at least 100 mph on his fly balls and line drives, along with Wood, Judge and Nick Kurtz. Hitting the ball that hard in the air is a great sign for the Home Run Derby.
Bryce Harper
Harper has been doing this a long time. He has the sixth-most barrels of any hitter since Statcast started tracking in 2015 -- those are balls with the ideal exit velocity and launch angle to turn into home runs. Harper's 546 barrels rank behind only Judge, Freddie Freeman, Manny Machado, Ohtani and Schwarber.
No comments:
Post a Comment