Tonight is the 2026 home run derby. While it may not be for everyone, it’s certainly something that many of us enjoy. This year there are no Cincinnati Reds played in the derby, but I think that we can still enjoy a bunch of dudes hitting baseballs to the Liberty Bell, right?
If you want to watch this year’s contest it’s going to be on Netflix. Coverage starts at 7pm ET but the actual home run derby won’t begin until 8pm ET.
Here are the eight competitors for tonight:
- Kyle Schwarber – 32 home runs
- Ben Rice – 29 home runs
- Junior Caminero – 28 home runs
- Jordan Walker – 22 home runs
- Bryce Harper – 20 home runs
- Munetaka Murakami – 20 home runs
- Willson Contreras – 20 home runs
- Jac Caglianone – 15 home runs
The rules are a bit different this year when compared to recent memory. There is no longer a “clock”. Each player gets 20 swings in Round One. They will get 15 swings in Round Two and in the Finals. This comes with a stipulation, though. If a player hits a home run on their final swing they get to continue swinging until they do not hit a home run.
My pick? Kyle Schwarber. Big time power. Home ballpark. I just think he’s going to get it done. Who I would like to see win it? Count me in on rooting the most for Munetaka Murakami. And give me Jordan Walker for the longest homer of the night.
Reds all-time HR Derby (maybe).
Klu. Robby. Bench. Foster. Dunn. Griffey, Jr.
Others?
Foster was built for the Derby. If I had to pick one Red, he’d be the one.
Hinds and CES
Frazier
Eric Davis
Josh Hamilton?
@Doug nice call on that walker fellow
Could have a play-in with Aquino, Wily Mo, and Francisco.
Lets put Wally Post in there too. Old timer I think you and I should get together for a beer and some old reds talk sometime. How about it.
Sounds good to me. May I suggest Local Post Eatery on Eastern Avenue just east of the Precinct Restaurant. Just say when. I’m open almost any day.
@Doug – where did the MBE article go?
If it went live, it was not supposed to. It’s scheduled for tomorrow morning.
It did briefly. I tried to comment but it wouldn’t take it. Good read as always by MBE.
I’m going with Caminero. I follow the Rays as a second team. He’s more noted for hitting homers on pitches in and out of the zone to all fields but with his bat speed and strength, he’s probably a favorite along with Schwarber and Rice.
Very nice start by Contreras there, deep shots.
Walker, also with 13, nice calm approach, should have taken that last pitch.
Elly got robbed this year. Should have been on the All-Star team. Should also be in the Derby. He finally said he would consider it this year after the format change, but apparently MLB didn’t ask him…
Walker looks like a perma-contender for the derby. Relaxed and so much easy power, more repeatable swing, better pitcher he had too.
Oldtimer,my apologies got called away for a while. I will have to look into that area ,ad it had been many years since I was over there.plus all the bridge changes. Will get back on here with you real soon.
I can go wherever you want.
@oldtimer. What the heck old timer are the rest of us chopped liver
No restrictions on my end.
That was fun. Even if I was wrong.
It happens. We’re only human. Fun though.
Keep up the good work, Doug. We’re all counting on you.
Wow, great finish. How he kept calm and collected down the stretch to win that. He will be the new annual favorite going forward if he enters again. Sucks he’s a Card.
Another glaring example of our big miss in the 2020 draft. 1of the 3 that should continue to haunt us as division rivals. PCA, Mitchell and Walker for the Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals were taken 19, 20 and 21 in the draft that we took Hendrick at 12. Gonzales was taken at 7 by the Pirates. All starters for their respective ballclubs while Hendrick is struggling with the Bats. I still believe that the failures in this draft has haunted the Reds the most as we look at our ballclub today.
You make a valid point I believe. Reds had a strong farm system at one point or so we were told. In reality though we had a few good players coming through the system. For whatever reason it seems most prospects dont make it. Lodolo, Greene,Ashcraft, Abbott have all been up here for 4 years or so. Then your next two are Lowder and Burns.
Of all the position players drafted or signed Friedl, Stephenson, then Mclain, Dunn, DE La Cruz wasnt drafted, he was signed out if Dominican Republic.
Then you Stewart. That to my knowledge is it. Bust have been Senzel,Hinds,Fairchild, and guys who don’t even make it out of minors. So is it a development problem, or what?
Marte,Arroyo, Steer all came in trades. Just seems to me its a organizational problem, failure
Austin Hendrick is a failure. He has finally made it to AAA, but he is batting just .209.
Never going to make it the bigs. The Reds REALLY seem to fail at drafting position players, as they seem to be obsessed with this “total athlete” mindset, and don’t look closely enough at just what kind of hitter the guy is.
Justin Lebron, and this other guy, Mulivai Levu, seem to fit the Reds ideas of big swingers who chase a lot. I will go out on a limb and predict they will both be LONG on getting to the Majors. Lebron, at 21, should probably start at Low A, but I would wager he will struggle there.
On the other hand, Alfredo Duno and Carter Graham (a little old for this level) are doing really well at AA Chattanooga. I could see both of them getting some looks next Spring, and then being at AAA Louisville. Maybe added to the 40 man then.
Yerlin Confidan is also doing pretty well at AA, and is a real talented outfielder.
Hector Rodriguez at AAA, enough said.
Carlos Jorge, CF at AAA now, struggling to hit after raking at AA level. Give him the rest of the season to get adjusted.
I see MLBTradeRumors reporting on Steer trade rumors. I’d hate to see him leave the team as he is one of the at least average hitters on the team. The most ugliness that plagues the Reds is the absolute failure of Friedl, McLain, Marte & Suarez. We had every right to expect much more from them, their failure has really dragged the team down. Don’t forget that Hayes was a huge drag as well and now that he’s back would constitute another huge hole in the lineup. Marte can’t even be part of a platoon since he can’t hit left-handed pitching still. Myers is expected to be ready on Friday while the preferred Dunn had to scrap plans to resume baseball activity. As far as the lineup goes, you cannot fault Tito for putting the OPS leaders at the top.
SS EDLC
3B Stewart
LF Bleday
RF Steer
1B Lowe
C Stephenson
CF Myers
DH Suarez
2B Arroyo
There were fans suggesting last winter the Reds should have traded Friedl when his value was at its peak. Personally, I thought the Reds should have considered moving Abbott if they could get the right deal. It seems to me like the type of smart move a team like Milwaukee would have done.
Reds hang on to cheap players that are performing even at a tick above or below being average and I speak about position players more than then staring pitchers but they do both.Its the way they operate.Works if you can continue to develop players and for the most part they have done that with starting pitching but hitting wise it hasn’t worked.They move players when they have to pay them and in some cases they have already started to decline.Some because of age or injury or both.Friedl had both against him but I doubt if any of us could have seen what has happened but to be honest they would have probably not paid him next year anyway regardless.If he had the year this year as he did in 2025 he would have got a big bump in money for his current I think 3.8 mil deal.The Brewers do move players and just plug another one in and move on because they do better at drafting and developing players.Krall is the POBO and he says he wants to build a team from within and that only works if the draft and development group does their job and they have not and need to be replaced.The Reds number 1 pick will be 22 and didn’t hit SEC pitching this year so who can help this kid learn to hit?He is not 18 or 19 he is 22 so when would we expect to see him in the big leagues?Could happen but does anybody think Steer will get 6 mil or more next year from the Reds?The Reds are in trouble in the minors and in the majors because the way they do business only works if you hit on many more draft choices then you miss thus allowing you do move players when they are at peak value.
Checked and Friedl does make 3.8 mil and Steer makes 4 mil so he may not reach 6 mil but the Reds will have to pay more then what he got this year to keep him.
I think if we can get back at least a top 100 SP, OF or C, who is near ML ready, the Reds might pull the trigger on Steer. I’m thinking it will be a multiple prospect deal because Steer has 2+ years of control remaining. There are prospects from the teams listed as possibly being interested in Steer in the top 100. We’ll see if the offers are good enough for Meador and Krall to deal Steer.
The likelihood of a top 100 player being traded for Steer, who i like, is low. First off, prospects are valued more highly because teams need cheaper, talented players to complement their expensive players, aka the Brewers method. Second is the problem of Steer not being worth a top 100 return. Would the Reds trade Alfredo Duno, Steele Hall or Edwin Arroyo for Steer? You might make an argument for Arroyo, as a contact oriented hitter but he is also a well regarded short stop. So, no, not likely. I’d say Steer’s return would possibly bring a prospect in a good team’s 5-10 range; and if it’s a system stacked with top 100 players, even that isn’t likely. Also, if it is a team like the Reds with a poorly regarded system, will they give up a one of their few top tier players? Doubtful. This isn’t a knock on Steer. He’s a solid average hitter best suited as a corner utility role, though not even necessarily a starter on a good team looking for depth. I’d expect a team’s mid-level prospect and a lower level prospect.
I see that Marlins called up Rece Hinds last Thursday after putting Owen Caissie on the IL. He’s gone 0-2 so far with a K. He has hit only .231/.296/.404 with Jacksonville. We need to call up Hector Rodriguez, I read that Sal thinks he should be brought up to the big club claiming that he can rake.
Hinds started out strong with the Jumbo Shrimp of Jacksonville, but then went into a big tailspin.
I still think the guy has talent, but a team needs to be able to afford to just put him out there for a couple of hundred AB’s, and let him sink or swim.
Benson got plenty of time and chances to prove himself, and he just cannot hit ML pitching for average.
And McLain…a lot of people thought that 2023 McLain was the wave of the future. And it has been really disappointing for the fans, and probably especially Matt McLain. Nobody wants to fail. It is probably eating him up inside.
And I am beginning to think that Marte is the same. He has been given time. And I would have him out there everyday, in RF. Stop with the platooning, already.
Suarez will never really hit for a high average, as he “sells out” on a lot of pitches to try and crush the ball. But given AB’s, he will hit homers. Since he came off the DL, and got his timing back, he has been hitting for more power.
There might be SOME team out there that would take him.
Friedl has been a big disappointment. I don’t know what is wrong with him. He might have just fallen off the cliff in hitting, which happens to everybody sooner or later. The Reds MIGHT hold on to him, and he might bounce back next year. That does happen sometimes. But he has lost some speed as a CF.
HRod needs to play virtually every day. An argument can be made for Marte to go back down.
7 games – .174/.208/.348
15 games – .176/.236/.373
30 games – .212/.264/.444
Season – .195/.248/.623
I’d trust the Judgment of Stewart more than some others for sure.
Are you that wasn’t Suarez talking about Arroyo after his rehab stint in Louisville?