Breaking down the field for Friday's High School Home Run Derby
On any given summer night in Philadelphia, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper can be found sending balls screaming into the seats of Citizens Bank Park as the present faces of the Phillies. For one afternoon this week, the next generation will give the baseball world a glimpse of the Major League slugfests yet to come.
Eight players were named to the 2026 High School Home Run Derby on Tuesday: Jimmy Amplo, Kinon Bastian, Brady Cunningham, Tavis Honeycutt, Graham Keen, Sullivan Reed, Lubin Rincon and Grant Westphal. The Derby will be held at Citizens Bank Park on Friday at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on MLB.com. Melanie Newman, Jonathan Mayo and Sande Charles will be on air for this year’s edition.
The top two finishers from Friday’s opening round will compete head-to-head to decide the final winner during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 13 in the same ballpark.
The High School Home Run Derby has an impressive list of alumni over the last decade-plus. There are four former participants from this year’s Major League All-Star teams alone in Bobby Witt Jr. (2018, winner), Riley Greene (2018), Jordan Walker (2019) and Sal Stewart (2021). Six members of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list also competed in the event in Josiah Hartshorn (2024), Ethan Holliday (2024), Xavier Neyens (2024), Aidan Miller (2022, winner), Max Clark (2022) and Robby Snelling (2021), who took part before he transitioned full-time to the mound as a pro. Speaking of the Top 100, preseason No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin took his Derby hacks in Seattle in 2023.
Those following the 2026 Draft closely might have gotten their first looks at No. 1 Draft prospect Grady Emerson in last year’s Derby, when he went deep 26 times in the opening round in Atlanta. He eventually fell to fellow Texas commit Beau Peterson, 9-8, in the final, but the overall display certainly helped his reputation as a young lefty slugger with at least above-average pop.
Could any of this year’s participants pull off a similar post-Derby rise as Emerson? Here’s more on the eight ready to display their power in the City of Brotherly Love:
Jimmy Amplo, OF/3B/1B, The Shipley School (PA)
Amplo is the first of two Pennsylvania natives on this year’s Derby roster, and his hometown of Norristown (located 25 miles northwest of Citizens Bank Park) should be familiar to many fans as the place that gave the baseball world Mike Piazza, Tommy Lasorda and Christian Walker. Amplo posted a 106.9 mph max exit velocity at Prep Baseball’s PA State Games last month, giving a taste of what could be coming in Philly on Friday.
Kinon Bastian, OF, The First Academy (FL)
The right-handed slugger boasts some of the best raw power in the class and could put on a Derby show as a result. He starts from an open stance and keeps his hands loose before unleashing powerful swings to the pull side. Bastian has whiffed a bit in showcase events in search of that power, but that won’t be much of a concern in a Derby environment. He is committed to Florida, where his brother Jaden redshirted this spring with a right leg fracture, and has a local connection as a member of the FTB Phillies travel team.
Brady Cunningham, 3B/RHP, Brother Rice HS (IL)
The Chicagoland native is no stranger to homering in Major League stadiums, having just gone deep last week in the Perfect Game National Showcase at loanDepot park in Miami. Listed at 6-foot-3, Cunningham certainly has plenty of size to pack a punch at the plate, and he’s already getting into that frame with good strength to punish balls to left field. The Texas A&M commit, who also touches the low-90s on the mound, has at least plus raw power that could push him into first-round discussions this time next year.
Tavis Honeycutt, 3B/1B, Newberry HS (FL)
Standing one inch taller than Cunningham at 6-foot-4, Honeycutt led Sunshine State high-schoolers with 16 homers and a 1.406 slugging percentage this spring on his way to being named the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Player of the Year. There are some deep family roots in baseball with his dad Shedrick playing two Minor League seasons in the Expos system and his uncle Mike Spina playing four between the A’s and Braves organizations. Honeycutt is committed to Florida.
Graham Keen, 3B/1B/OF/RHP, Mt. Lebanon HS (PA)
The second of two Keystone Staters on this list, Keen hails from the other end of the commonwealth in Pittsburgh and comes from the same high school as Cubs outfielder Ian Happ. Keen stands tallest among the 2026 Derby participants at 6-foot-6, and as a right-handed slugger, he has a straight-forward stance in the box before generating impressive pop with ample strength. The son of two collegiate track athletes, Keen can also sit in the low-90s with his fastball and could pursue pitching at Vanderbilt or in the pros, given his arm strength and future projection.
Sullivan Reed, 3B/1B/RHP, Lamar School (MS)
Mississippi State has one corner infielder who could go in the first round this year in Ace Reese (MLB Pipeline’s No. 18 Draft prospect), and they could have another one coming in Reed, if he ever makes it to Starkville. The Bulldogs commit shows good bat speed from the right side and has athleticism stemming from his work as a quarterback in the fall. He hit 13 homers in the King of Swing Home Run Derby in Omaha last month.
Lubin Rincon, SS/3B, The Bennett School (TX)
A native of Venezuela, Rincon joined Cunningham in going deep at the PG National Showcase in Miami last week. In his case, it was an inside-the-park job, but there was still good slugging ability on display as he took a 90 mph left-on-left fastball all the way to the wall in straightaway center. The Texas commit stands out more for his future projection than his current power, but as Emerson showed last year, athletes who can play a true shortstop – as Rincon can – are capable of flipping the switch in Derby environments.
Grant Westphal, OF, Blue Valley HS (KS)
Westphal could be the best high school hitting prospect to come out of Kansas since Bubba Starling went fifth overall to the Royals in 2011, and after Peterson’s win last year, he has a shot at giving the Sunflower State back-to-back Derby champs. Like his fellow Texas commit Rincon, he stands out for the power that could come down the line in his 6-foot-2 frame, but the athleticism that makes him an option to stick in center could be in play with a singular focus on hitting dingers Friday. Longhorn fans may recognize the name after Westphal’s brother Grady redshirted as a freshman pitcher in Austin this spring.