Home Run Derby 2017 Start Time: TV Schedule, Bracket and More

The 32nd Major League Baseball Home Run Derby will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Monday at Marlins Park in Miami. ESPN will provide coverage, and fans can live-stream the event through WatchESPN. The contest should last until at least 10 p.m. ET.

This will be the third straight year marking a new format, featuring an eight-man bracket and four-minute rounds.

The set time has proved to be a success for a few reasons.

First, the Home Run Derby no longer drags on for close to three hours as players march through seemingly endless rounds. Seeing contestants hit home run after home run before they reached 10 "outs" was fun, but it also endlessly dragged the Derby well into the night.

Second, players who dominate the beginning of the Derby have less opportunity to get fatigued in the later rounds because they receive 45-second timeouts in each round (and an additional 30 seconds in the final) and won't be up there hacking meaningless first-round home runs for 10 minutes after they've already hit enough to make the semifinals. Now those players can save their energy for the later rounds.

Finally, it's fun to watch baseball, an infamously untimed game, take on the exciting timed element of other sports, even if it's only for an exhibition. It leaves open the possibility that a player may hit a home run as the buzzer sounds to tie or take the lead, which makes for fantastic drama.

Expect this format, which has provided much excitement over the past two years, to continue for a long time, especially if this year's contest proves to be a hit.

Speaking of which, the 2017 competition should be interesting.

Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who hit 61 home runs over the course of three rounds en route to winning the 2016 Home Run Derby, is a 33-20 favorite to win, according to OddsShark. However, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who leads MLB in home runs, with 30, is listed right behind Stanton at 7-4.

No other Derby participant is in Stanton and Judge's stratosphere in terms of odds, as Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger is next on the list at 9-1.

Stanton and Judge are on opposite ends of the bracket, so a dream final matchup between two of the game's biggest players is a possibility.

If you're looking for a dark horse, take a look at New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, even though he has a difficult first-round matchup with Stanton.

According to ESPN's Home Run Tracker, Sanchez is second in Major League Baseball in true home run distance, at 420.9 feet. He has hit only 13 home runs this season, but that number would undoubtedly be bigger if not for missing 30 games, most of which were due to a biceps injury.

Stanton may have the crowd behind him, but if Sanchez gets into a groove, don't be surprised to see him pull off an upset.