Gunnar Henderson’s power will soon grace the national spotlight in full force.

The Orioles shortstop plans to compete in this year’s Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on July 15 during All-Star Game festivities, he announced while mic’d up on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” during the third inning of Baltimore’s game against the Texas Rangers. Henderson is the first player to join the field for this year’s derby.

“Yeah, of course,” he said when asked on the broadcast if he’ll be preparing for the event. “This will be my first competitive one ever, so I’m just looking to be competitive out there, and obviously going [there] to win it. But yeah, as long as I put up some competitive rounds I’ll be happy.”

Henderson said he would hold tryouts to determine who would pitch to the star during the event.

“The three that I have slated are our lefty [batting practice] guy, Rubén [Francisca], then Cody Asche, then Matt Borgschulte are going to be my three candidates right now,” he told ESPN.

Henderson is tied with Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani for the second most home runs in the majors this season with 26. Only New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has more (31). The Orioles were represented in the derby last year by catcher Adley Rutschman, who was knocked out in the first round by the top-seeded Luis Robert Jr. but put on a spectacle by hitting 27 home runs switching between a left- and right-handed stance.

“We’ve had some good performances Orioles-wise since I’ve been here with [Trey] Mancini that one year [finishing second to Pete Alonso in 2021] and Rutsch last year putting on a show,” manager Brandon Hyde said after the game. “So, hopefully Gunnar can do something similar.”

MLB is changing the format to the derby this season to slow down the pace of the event and ensure the best performers advance to the later rounds. The top four hitters from the first round will advance to the semifinals, where they will be seeded based on their first-round total. The rounds will still be timed, but hitters will see a maximum of 40 pitches in the first round and semifinals and 27 pitches in the finals. Bonus time will no longer be measured with a clock; hitters will instead get three bonus outs at the end with a fourth earned if they hit a 425-foot homer in the bonus round.

“I did see something where they changed the format this year so that’ll be interesting,” Henderson said. “But, yeah, I’ll pick [Rutschman’s] brain a little bit.”

Miguel Tejada was the last Oriole to win the derby back in 2004. The only other player in Orioles history and the only other shortstop to win the derby in its 36-year history is Cal Ripken Jr., who won it in 1991. At 23, Henderson would be the youngest player to ever win the event.

“It’s definitely something I’ve been watching as a kid growing up,” Henderson said. “It’s obviously something that seems like it would be pretty cool and to have that opportunity is, yeah, pretty special. So, looking forward to it.”