The 2025 MLB Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, and the eight-player field is now complete.
Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. was the first to commit to the event, to be held at his home yard, Truist Park in Atlanta. However, one day after the field was finalized, MLB announced that his teammate Matt Olson would replace him.
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While Acuña played as recently as Thursday, hitting two homers against the Athletics, he was scratched from the lineup earlier this week due to back tightness. The Braves likely didn’t want to chance anything with the Derby, which can be physically taxing.
Another of the confirmed Derby spots might be a little tenuous as well. Twins All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton is currently day-to-day after being hit by a pitch on Wednesday. It was unclear as of Thursday whether the injury will threaten Buxton’s ability to participate in the Derby or the All-Star Game.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández is the reigning Derby champion after beating Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. in the 2024 final. He will not be defending his title this year.
Here’s every slugger who is competing in this year’s event.
Who is competing in the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby?
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves first baseman
Ronald Acuña Jr. was set to be the Derby’s hometown hero, but instead it will be Olson, who led MLB with 54 homers in 2023. He previously competed in the Derby in 2021, when he was a member of the Athletics, and lost in the first round to Trey Mancini. He’s having another great year this season and will be taking part in his third career All-Star Game on Tuesday.
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Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees second baseman
Chisholm is having a solid start to the year since landing with the Yankees last summer. The second baseman has put up 17 homers this season behind a career-high .876 OPS, with 43 RBI.
Chisholm is on pace to surpass his numbers from last year (24 HR and 73 RBI) by the end of the season, but first, he’ll try his hand in the Derby. This year marks Chisholm’s second All-Star selection after he received the honor in 2022 while with the Miami Marlins.
Brent Rooker, Athletics designated hitter
Rooker is a second-time All-Star, and now he’s throwing his hat in the ring to win this year’s Home Run Derby. The 30-year-old has started 80 games as the Athletics’ designated hitter this season and 13 games in the outfield, eight in right and five in left.
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Rooker is slashing .270/.346/.489 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI this year. He’s on pace for his third straight season with 30-plus homers. Last year, he hit 39 dingers for the A’s.
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman
The 22-year-old Caminero, who announced his entry on Instagram, is showing why he was a hyped prospect with his play in his first full MLB season. The Rays’ third baseman has already surpassed 20 home runs and will be part of the AL All-Star roster after being named a replacement for the injured Alex Bregman.
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder
Cruz announced Tuesday that he will take part in the event. The 26-year-old outfielder has the second-lowest home run total of any participant thus far but might have the best skill set for the event.
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Cruz is a Statcast darling, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit percentage. He already owns the MLB record for hardest-hit ball with his 122.9 mph home run in May.
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins outfielder
Buxton announced on Instagram that he will enter the field. The 31-year-old Twins outfielder has already surpassed his home run totals from the past two seasons and is on pace for a career high. After he takes part in the Derby, he will represent the American League in his second All-Star Game.
“Going back home to do something like this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” the Georgia-born Buxton said. “I know I’m not going to play 30 more years for it to get back to Atlanta, so it’s that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that — I talked about it with some close people, guys on the team, friends, family, and everybody got excited. … They didn’t want me to pass up the opportunity.”
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James Wood, Washington Nationals outfielder
The 6-foot-7 Nationals slugger is having a breakout season, eclipsing the 20-home-run mark by the end of June. Wood, 22, was a part of the Juan Soto trade that brought a package of young talent to the Nationals from the San Diego Padres.
Wood has been such an offensive threat this season that on June 29, the Los Angeles Angels intentionally walked him four times. The last player to receive such an honor from an opponent was Barry Bonds in 2004.
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners catcher
MLB’s home run leader is a Mariners catcher nicknamed “The Big Dumper,” and he’s on pace to blow away every personal best and maybe even challenge the AL home run record if he keeps this up. It’s a beautiful sport.
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With two straight 30-homer seasons and Platinum Glove-winning defense behind the plate, Raleigh was one of the most underrated players in baseball entering this season. But by now, even casual baseball fans should know his name, as he’s making his case to be considered one of baseball’s elite players, if he isn’t already there.
What are the rules of the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby?
After a decade of a pure one-on-one tournament format with timed rounds, MLB tweaked the format in 2024.
Instead of four matchups in the first round, last year all eight hitters competed to reach the top four, with a limit of 40 pitches across three minutes plus three bonus outs (in which they keep hitting until they fail to hit a homer three times). The four advancing hitters were then seeded for the semifinal and final rounds, the latter of which featured two minutes and 27 pitches.
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It’s a complicated format, but MLB is running it back with the same rules this year.
When is the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby?
The 2025 Home Run Derby, held at Atlanta’s Truist Park, will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, the day after the 2025 MLB Draft and the day before the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. As usual, the event will be televised on ESPN.
