​Why Rays’ Junior Caminero should be Home Run Derby favorite over Kyle Schwarber originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Home Run Derby is happening tonight, July 13, in Philadelphia. Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Junior Caminero will participate for the second straight year in the derby.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe performed well last year, coming up just short of Cal Raleigh. But this year at Citizens Bank Park, Caminero might have better luck.As Eno Sarris of The Athletic highlighted, Caminero should be the derby favorite tonight. Not Philadelphia Phillies slugger and home-run leader Kyle Schwarber, but Caminero, should be seen as the favorite for this year’s Home Run Derby.”Junior Caminero owns the fastest bat in the league right now. When he launched a 463-foot home run off Merrill Kelly in late June, he hit the ball 3 feet further than any other Derby contestant has hit one this year. He’s hit 10 balls more than 425 feet, the most in MLB,” Sarris writes. “So Caminero, last year’s runner-up, has to be seen as the favorite through this lens, even if Kyle Schwarber leads the majors in homers.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCaminero has 28 home runs this season before the All-Star break, and he’s been on a heater recently, hitting 13 home runs in his last 72 at-bats and 19 games played.Even though Schwarber has hit 32 home runs this season and is playing in his home ballpark in Philadelphia, Caminero should be the favorite for the derby tonight.MORE: What happened to Shohei Ohtani? Why Dodgers star won’t pitch tonight, or play in All-Star GameHe has a top-5 EV50, which measures a batter’s hardest 50% of all batted balls, which, for the Home Run Derby, is a good thing for Caminero since he will be able to pick and choose what pitches to swing at without worrying about time.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAccording to Baseball Savant, Caminero has an EV50 of 105.8, fifth-best in MLB, and behind only Jac Caglianone among Home Run Derby participants.That’s not all for Caminero, as his average bat speed of 79.9 mph is by far the best in baseball, 0.7 mph better than second place in Jordan Walker, and well ahead of most other hitters in baseball.Between Caminero’s hot streak coming into the Home Run Derby, his elite batted-ball metrics, and his league-best bat speed, Caminero should be the favorite to win the Home Run Derby Monday night.Cubs ‘realistic’ trade idea sends Seiya Suzuki to the Mariners for Luis CastilloPhillies trade idea lands Jung Hoo Lee and Robbie Ray from Giants for 2 prospectsYankees trade idea sends Carlos Lagrange to Athletics for utilityman Zack GelofWhat did Blue Jays get for Tommy Nance? Twins send .855 OPS catcher prospect in tradeCardinals sign JJ Wetherholt to eight-year, $112.5 million contract extension