MLB Home Run Derby 2018: TV Schedule, Bracket and New Format Breakdown

As we gear up for the MLB All-Star break, fans have quite a few other festivities to enjoy leading up to the showcase of the best of the American and National leagues.

In addition to the Futures Game, the Home Run Derby draws a lot of fan interest.

This is an event in which eight of the most powerful hitters get together to demonstrate their power in a competition to see who the home-run-hitting king is.

While fans won't see last year's champion, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, they'll still have eight excellent competitors to watch.

Below, we'll go over where to watch the event, the format, the odds for the competitors and the eight-man bracket.

2018 MLB Home Run Derby

When: Monday, July 16

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Where: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

National TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Odds—Tournament Winner

Bryce Harper: +225

Kyle Schwarber: +333

Jesus Aguilar: +500

Javier Baez: +550

Rhys Hoskins: +650

Max Muncy: +700

Freddie Freeman: +850

Alex Bregman: +1100

via OddsShark.

Format

Over the last few years, MLB has decided to tinker with the Home Run Derby format to make it a bit more exciting for viewers.

In the past, players were given 10 "outs," which was basically any hit that was not a home run or a swing and a miss.

Now, it's a bit more like a video game and adds the element of a time limit.

There's also a bracket of eight players, which was determined based on season home run totals. For those that were tied in home runs, a tiebreaker was determined based on how many a player had since June 15, which is a clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.

For each of the three rounds, each player gets four minutes to smash as many homers as they can. However, it gets a little different in the final minute. When a player hits a home run in the final minute of their respective round the clock will stop and will restart once the player completes a non-home run swing.

Players can also earn a bonus of 30 seconds when they hit two home runs that travel 440 or more feet. That time will be added on after the initial four minutes.

And yes, there are timeouts. In the first and second rounds, players will get a 45-second timeout. In the final round, players will get two separate timeouts of 45 and 30 seconds.

But what if there are ties? Well, if that happens, players will compete in a one-minute swing-off.

If there is a tie even after that, players will compete in a pitch-by-pitch sudden death.

Derby Bracket, Round 1 (seed)

(1) Jesus Aguilar vs. (8) Rhys Hoskins

(2) Bryce Harper vs. (7) Freddie Freeman

(3) Max Muncy vs. (6) Javier Baez

(4) Alex Bregman vs. (5) Kyle Schwarber

Latest Buzz

Aaron Judge Not Defending His Title

After a monstrous performance in which we saw four home runs sail 500 or more feet in 2017, Judge opted to not participate in this year's Home Run Derby.

If he had, he'd be given the automatic No. 1 seed.

Earlier this season, Judge said that there was "no need to" defend it after knocking out 47 total home runs and needing to come back after a 22-home run outburst from his opponent, Miami Marlins first basemen Justin Bour, in the first round.

Judge also alluded to the fact that the Yankees are having an excellent season and doesn't want to risk injury in the Home Run Derby.

Bryce Harper Favored to Win

The odds have shifted, and the Nationals' own Bryce Harper is now the favorite to take home the crown.

Earlier this week, Chicago Cubs outfielder/catcher Kyle Schwarber was the betting choice.

Aside from his ability, Harper will also have a home crowd surrounding him, which should help pump up the adrenaline.

And Harper is an excellent power hitter, having hit 23 home runs this season.

Sure, we could talk about his .214 batting average, but that has no bearing on this particular event.

Harper has a fairly easy route to the finals. In the first round, he gets Freddie Freeman, who he should be able to handle. However, he could run into a bit of a competition with Los Angeles Dodgers first basemen Max Muncy.

Maybe Muncy loses to Javier Baez? If that happens, Harper will handle him—he's not exactly a known masher of any kind.

Facing potentially the easiest route to get into the final round, coupled with being at his home park, Harper is an easy guy to peg as the favorite for this event.