Kyle Schwarber leads the majors with 32 home runs and is the +330 favorite in the 2026 Home Run Derby tonight, but his 56 dingers last year still trailed our own Cal Raleigh's incredible 60 long balls. Yeah, you heard that right, our guy topped him. As the All-Star festivities kick off in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park, it's hard not to look at this field and remember what the Emerald City's own catcher did just a season ago.
The Derby Field: Who's Chasing Raleigh's Shadow?
Schwarber is obviously a huge favorite, especially playing at home for the Phillies with Bryce Harper (who has 20 homers) also representing the hometown crowd. But 60 homers in a season? That's a different level, a level Cal Raleigh hit last year, outpacing Schwarber's 56. No one in this current derby field has put up numbers like that recently. Junior Caminero is next up in the odds at +380, followed by Munetaka Murakami at +500, Jordan Walker at +550, Harper at +650, Jac Caglione at +750, Ben Rice at +950, and Wilson Contreras rounding things out at +2000. It's a stacked lineup, for sure, but our guy's 2025 season hangs over it all. Can any of these sluggers get close to that 60-bomb mark? We'll see.New Rules, New Mayhem: No More Ticking Clock
This isn't your daddy's Home Run Derby, folks. Major League Baseball is rolling out a brand new format for 2026, and the biggest change? The timer, which has been around since 2015, is GONE. Say goodbye to frantic, rushed swings. Instead, these eight hitters get a finite amount of swings in each round. It's 20 swings for Round 1, then 15 swings apiece for Round 2 and the final round. Every single swing counts, whether it's a homer or not, though if a player goes yard on their final swing, they keep going until they miss one. Tiebreakers are gonna be wild too: home run distance for Round 1, and quick three-swing swing-offs for Rounds 2 and 3. All eight guys start in one big pool for Round 1, with the top four HR totals moving on to semifinals where they'll be seeded head-to-head. This rule change could totally shake things up. So, who's gonna crush it under the new rules? SportsLine expert Matt Severance is on a ridiculous 118-66-1 roll with his MLB picks, up $1,681 over the last four seasons. He's got his best bets locked in. We'll be watching to see how this new format plays out and who can step up. Here's hoping one of these guys puts on a show that makes us think of Cal Raleigh's incredible 2025 performance.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.