Walker entered the event as one of the field’s biggest underdogs, but looked cool, calm and collected from the outset, launching 19 home runs on just 27 swings, including 13 in the first round, to cruise into the finals. He then eliminated one of the favorites, Junior Caminero, to earn a showdown with Kyle Schwarber in an electric final round. The 24-year-old burgeoning star went deep on each of his final six swings to become the first Cardinals hitter in franchise history to win the Home Run Derby. It was an unbelievable performance.

Schwarber’s defining characteristic is an uncanny ability to thrive under pressure, somehow always finding his swing and locking in on the biggest stages in baseball. The 33-year-old entered as the overwhelming favorite in his home ballpark and managed to overcome a frosty start to narrowly advance to the semifinals before outlasting former teammate Willson Contreras to reach the final round. He homered on seven of his first 10 swings in the finals and finished with a whopping 11 on 15 swings. It took a herculean effort from Cardinals emerging star Jordan Walker, who homered on each of his final six swings to pull off an incredible comeback.

Cholowsky receives a $10.35 million signing bonus, which represents a roughly $1 million under-slot deal, as the top-overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. The 21-year-old was universally regarded as the most polished collegiate shortstop in at least a decade with a real chance to be above average both at the plate and in the field. From a fantasy standpoint, he projects as a strong contributor in the power department with enough hit tool projection to envision a respectable batting average. He won’t help at all in the stolen base department, which caps his realistic upside. Still, he’s a phenomenal prospect with a chance to bolster Chicago’s rapidly improving young nucleus as one one of their franchise cornerstones.

Misiorowski has made the leap from hard-throwing phenom to top-of-the-rotation force within the last few months, posting a microscopic 1.62 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 167/27 K/BB ratio across 111 innings over 18 first-half starts. The 24-year-old flame-thrower won’t reach free agency until 2032, but with more teams prioritizing long-term extensions with their top young players, it feels a bit surprising that there haven’t even been preliminary talks yet. Misiorowski is slated to resume throwing this week after being scratched from his final first-half outing due to fatigue. It doesn’t appear to be a serious concern, but fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status coming out of the All-Star break.

Acuña played five innings in right field during his first rehab contest. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar appears on track to return to Atlanta’s lineup following the All-Star break. He’s been brought along slowly in his recovery from a left hamstring issue that has forced him to the injured list on a pair of occasions since early May. He’ll get in a handful of additional rehab contests in the Florida Coast League before his next steps come into focus.

Rice is not exactly known for his speed, but he already has three triples on the season, and this one was a big one as it turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 cushion. The 27-year-old was outstanding in the first half, and the Home Run Derby participant has now driven in 68 runs in 2026. Some regression is certainly possible — baseball is hard — but everything Rice has shown over the first few months suggest this is legit.

Flewelling was named Futures Game MVP following the contest. The 19-year-old backstop wasn’t in the junior circuit’s starting lineup, but he delivered the biggest hit of the contest when he crushed a two-run shot to right field in the sixth inning to give them a commanding 4-1 advantage. He’s blossomed into one of the more intriguing catching prospects in baseball this season with a breakout campaign at High-A Bowling Green, slashing .261/.394/.496 with 16 homers and six steals in 335 plate appearances over 73 games. He’s a name fantasy managers need to know in long-term keeper and dynasty formats.

Made lifted an opposite-field single into shallow right field off Mariners southpaw Kade Anderson with two outs in the opening frame. He stepped to the plate with runners on the corners in the third inning but wound up grounding out harmlessly, although he did push the tying run across the plate with the 106.9-mph worm burner. The 19-year-old switch-hitting shortstop has continued his meteoric rise towards Milwaukee this season, slashing .276/.347/.442 with nine homers and 26 steals in 346 plate appearances over 76 games as one of the youngest players in Double-A.

De Vries lead off the contest with a line-drive single to left field and immediately swiped second and third base before crossing the plate on a ground out from Franklin Arias. He struck out against lefty Cam Caminiti in his next at-bat to end the third before being lifted for a defensive replacement in the fourth. The 19-year-old shortstop was the centerpiece of the Mason Miller trade with the Padres last year and looks like a potential X-factor for the Athletics homegrown core alongside the likes of Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom.

Anderson drew the starting assignment for the American League and delivered a near-flawless 10-pitch frame that perfectly encapsulated the polish that has made him one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. He coaxed a pop up from Eli Willits and got Roldy Brito to ground out before surrendering an opposite-field single to Jesús Made. He managed to get out of the frame unscathed by inducing a deep fly ball from Charlie Condon. He averaged 94.3 mph on his four-seam fastball and topped out at 95.4 mph. The 22-year-old southpaw has authored a dominant professional debut, compiling a pristine 1.36 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 108/10 K/BB ratio across 72 2/3 innings over 14 starts at Double-A Arkansas. He’s on track to reach Seattle later this summer and offers enough strikeout upside to make an immediate fantasy impact upon arrival.