Cardinals' Jordan Walker Revealed for MLB HR Derby, Updated Field of Participants for All-Star Event

Amid a breakout year that earned him his first All-Star selection, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker is also going to take part in the 2026 Home Run Derby.

Walker announced on Instgram that he would be joining the field for Monday's event as part of MLB's All-Star festivities.

The Cardinals slugger is the fifth confirmed participant in this year's Derby.

2026 Home Run Derby Participants

• Jordan Walker, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
• Willson Contreras, 1B, Boston Red Sox
• Ben Rice, 1B/DH, New York Yankees
• Junior Caminero, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
• Jac Caglianone, 1B/OF, Kansas City Royals

A first-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2020, Walker was highly-regarded as a prospect. He entered the 2023 season as MLB.com's No. 4 overall prospect, behind Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll and Francisco Álvarez.

It seemed for awhile as if Walker was not going to reach that potential. He ranked 225 out of 229 qualified players in fWAR from 2023 to '25 with a .240/.302/.378 slash line and 27 homers in 279 games during that period.

This season has been a revelation for Walker, who is only 24 years old. He is hitting .294/.355/.534 with 21 homers and an MLB-leading 70 RBI in 89 games.

The two biggest differences for Walker this season compared to previous years is barrel rate and launch angle. He ranks in the 87th percentile in the former and 63rd percentile in the latter this year, per Baseball Savant.

Last year, Walker ranked in the 66th percentile in barrel rate and fifth percentile in launch angle.

Walker has been the primary driving force for a Cardinals team with playoff aspirations in a season when they were thought to be rebuilding.

The Cardinals enter play on Thursday with a 48-43 record, two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins in the NL wild card race.

Walker is the first Cardinals representative in the Home Run Derby since Albert Pujols in 2022. They have never had a player win the event since it was added to the All-Star event in 1985.

The 2026 Home Run Derby takes place on Monday from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.