Overview
- Round 1 concluded Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, July 13, with Kyle Schwarber (10), Willson Contreras (13), Jordan Walker (13) and Junior Caminero (12) moving to the semifinals.
- MLB replaced the clock with a swing-based format that gives hitters 20 swings in Round 1 and 15 in later rounds, and a continuity clause lets a player who homers on a final swing keep hitting until he fails to homer.
- The Derby was available only on Netflix under the league’s new streaming arrangement, marking the first time the event was not on broadcast or cable TV.
- Pre-event markets had listed Schwarber as the favorite based on his MLB-leading 32 homers, and sportsbooks and prediction platforms had grouped Caminero, Murakami and others close behind in probability.
- The event carries large guaranteed payouts—$1 million for the champion, $500,000 for the runner-up, $150,000 for other participants and $100,000 for the longest homer—and Thursday’s semifinals will seed No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 under the new swing rules.