When Netflix acquired the rights to broadcast MLB‘s annual Home Run Derby, it came with an iota of risk.
The Derby doesn’t always showcase the game’s biggest talents.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani participated once, in 2021. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge competed as a rookie in 2017 and won; he hasn’t competed since. Ohtani and Judge are the sport’s biggest stars by a mile.
For the most part, however, the Derby has captured enough star power by offering millions to the winner — an attractive sum for players who have yet to reach free agency.
Last year’s Derby winner, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, took home $1 million — doubling his 2025 salary — by hitting 54 home runs across the three-round event. The runner-up, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, nearly doubled his salary by taking home $750,000.
This year, Caminero isn’t playing for second.
MLB announced the 22-year-old prodigy as the first 2026 Home Run Derby participant. Netflix is streaming the July event for the first time in its history. In Caminero, the streamer gets a bona fide star.
In six games last week, Caminero hit a whopping seven home runs, bringing his season total to 22. Only two American League hitters, Yordan Alvarez and Byron Buxton, have more.
Players invited to participate in the Derby can decline. By accepting, Caminero assured Netflix there will be at least one can’t-miss player in the field, a potential MVP candidate poised for an extended run as one of the sport’s main characters.
The 2026 Home Run Derby streams live from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 13.
The format for the Derby will change this year. Instead of trying to hit as many homers as they can during timed rounds, participants will be given 20 swings in Round 1, 15 in Round 2, and 15 again in the final round.
All swings will count against a player’s swing allotment, whether it results in a homer or not. A player who homers on his final swing of a round can keep swinging until a ball fails to clear the fence.