Jeff Passan Warns MLB Fans: Tonight's HR Derby Is 'Gonna Stink'
The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby is set to air on Netflix Monday night. ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan isn't very enthusiastic about it.
Passan fears that tonight's Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, which will feature a new format, is "gonna stink."
The new MLB Home Run Derby format will have every player getting an allotted 20 swings in the first round and 15 in each round after. In previous editions of the Home Run Derby, hitters would operate on a time clock, or an outs format.
During Monday morning's First Take, Passan did his best to warn MLB fans about tonight's new format.
Passan spoke harshly about the new format.
"I think it's gonna stink," Passan stated. "Genuinely, I'm worried about that. Because the whole reason that the timer came in in the first place, is because it felt really slow. The timer brought urgency, and the timer brought a countdown and an end. And we're just gonna see tonight, time between pitches, it's gonna grind a little bit."
2026 MLB Home Run Derby participants
There will be eight competitors in the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby on Monday evening:
- Kyle Schwarber
- Bryce Harper
- Junior Caminero
- Munetaka Murakami
- Jordan Walker
- Jac Caglianone
- Willson Contreras
- Ben Rice
MLB.com sees Schwarber as the favorite.
"This is Schwarber's third Home Run Derby appearance, and his second as a Phillie. (He competed as a Cub in 2018 and finished second. We'll get to who he finished second to in a bit.) If there's ever a year when he's going to win the whole thing, this is it: He's launching homers at his usual prodigious rate, he's healthy and he's playing at his home park," MLB.com wrote.
"It would feel almost wrong if Schwarber, one of the great home run hitters of his time, never wears the Home Run Derby crown. There's no better place to do to it than in front of his hometown fans. Well, unless ..."
Will you be tuning in tonight?
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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 1:02 PM.