The White Sox announced tonight that first baseman Munetaka Murakami will participate in the 2026 Home Run Derby. That means the field is set for the event. The sluggers will take the field at Citizens Bank Park on Monday at 7 pm CT. Here are the participants:
Schwarber leads the league with 32 home runs. He’s on track to threaten 50 homers once again after going deep a career-high 56 times in 2025. Schwarber will be joined in his home venue by teammate Harper. The veteran first baseman won the 2018 edition of the event in D.C. while with the Nationals. Harper beat Schwarber in the finals that year.
Murakami will become the second Japanese-born player to participate in the event. Shohei Ohtani competed in 2021 as a member of the Angels. Murakami was routinely trading the AL home run lead with Aaron Judge before going down with a hamstring injury at the end of May. He’s hit 20 homers in his first 200 MLB at-bats. Murakami was a prolific power hitter during his time in Nippon Professional Baseball, including a 56-homer campaign in 2022.
Walker has developed into a star in his fourth big-league season. The former top prospect entered the year with 27 career home runs. He’s already gone deep 22 times in 2026. Walker leads the league in RBI.
Caminero returns to the competition after losing to Cal Raleigh in the finals last year. He’s in the middle of a ridiculous power surge, having launched 11 home runs in his last 14 games heading into Friday. Caminero has zoomed up to third in the AL in home runs, two behind Yordan Alvarez and one behind Rice.
This year’s event will revert to using swings instead of timed rounds. The participants will get 20 swings in the first round, with the top four players moving on. The semifinals and finals will consist of 15 swings apiece in a head-to-head setup. Rounds can’t end on a home run. If a player goes deep on the final swing of a round, they can continue hitting until they fail to hit a home run.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene of The Enquirer via Imagn Images
