Junior Caminero made it official on his Instagram account: he’s in for the 2026 Home Run Derby. That makes the Tampa Bay third baseman the first confirmed participant, and honestly, it might not matter who else shows up.
He’s 22 years old and already sitting on 22 home runs this season. MLB posted the news with a simple message: “Junior Caminero was built for this.” Hard to argue. The guy is starting at third base for the American League in this year’s All-Star Game, which tells you everything about how the league views him right now.
The field is wide open without Judge and Ohtani
Aaron Judge is hurt. Shohei Ohtani probably isn’t doing another Derby. That leaves a pretty clear path for Caminero to be the betting favorite heading into the event. He’s not just hitting home runs, he’s launching moonshots. Twenty-two of them so far this season. At his age, with that kind of power, he could be a force in this thing for years.
But the Derby isn’t just about one guy. The All-Star Game is in Philadelphia this year, which means the host city usually sends someone. Kyle Schwarber or Bryce Harper are the obvious candidates. Both have been in the Derby before. Schwarber lost to Harper in the 2018 final, which is a fun bit of history if they end up in the same field again.
Schwarber leads the league in homers
Schwarber has 30 home runs, four more than anyone else. The guy is mashing. It would be weird if he didn’t participate, especially in his home ballpark. Keep an eye on that.
Other names worth watching: Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman is second in the league with 26 dingers. Yordan Alvarez is doing his usual thing in Houston. The rookie class has some serious pop too, with Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto both crushing it. James Wood, Matt Olson, and Brandon Lowe are all lefties with at least 20 homers who could get the call.
More participants should be announced in the next few days. But for now, the first guy in is a 22-year-old who already looks like he belongs.
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