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The Home Run Derby began with little fanfare in 1985, but as time went on and the 1990s became the decade of the dinger, the event became must-see television for baseball fans.

The Derby has waxed and waned in terms of excitement over the years, but this season's contest looks to be one of the best in league history on paper, featuring some towering sluggers and new stars.

Action will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10. ESPN will provide coverage, and fans can live stream the Derby through WatchESPN.

Here's a look at the format, the bracket and two predictions for Monday night.

Format

Per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, eight players will be in this year's contest, seeded one through eight in a bracket. Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton is the No. 1 seed by virtue of winning the Home Run Derby last year, while the next seven players are seeded two through eight based on the amount of home runs hit through Wednesday, July 5.

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In the first round, players are given four minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. They are given the option to take a 45-second timeout for a breather mid-round. If a player hits at least two home runs measuring 440 feet, then he receives 30 seconds of bonus time.

There is no re-seeding for the second round, so the winners of the 1 vs. 8 and 4 vs. 5 matchups will face off, and the 2 vs. 7 and 3 vs. 6 victors will do the same. The first-round rules apply for the semifinals as well.

In the finals, all the same rules apply, except that players are given a 30-second timeout in addition to their 45-second rest.

In the event of a tie, each player will be given 60 seconds of additional bonus time.

Bracket

Predictions

Stanton vs. Sanchez 1st-Round Matchup Causes Change for Next Year

Although the new timed format is a welcome change, especially considering the massive lulls in the action when players were given 10 outs as opposed to a set four minutes, the bracket should be dropped for next year.

Case in point: No. 1 seed Stanton's reward after winning the Home Run Derby last year is facing New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who has hit 13 homers in just 55 games after missing a chunk of the season due to injury. He's the eighth seed by default.

That's not a fair matchup for Stanton. He could conceivably hit the second-most home runs out of everyone in the first round and still not advance to the semifinals because his opponent mashed more taters.

Expect Stanton and Sanchez to have a fantastic first-round duel, with Stanton barely edging out a great performance by Sanchez that would have advanced him to the first round over any opponent not named Aaron Judge.

Next year, MLB should scrap the bracket and keep everything else: Take the top four players after the quarterfinals and the top two after the semifinals.

Judge Beats Stanton in Fantastic Final

Stanton was incredible in the Home Run Derby last year, hitting 61 home runs over the course of three rounds.

Most impressively, he hit more home runs than any first-round contestant (Stanton hit 24, and Baltimore Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo was second with 16). He managed the same feat in the second round, smacking 17 dingers (Chicago White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier finished just one behind at 16). In the final, Stanton showed no fatigue in hitting 20 more to finish the night.

Given Stanton's success last year, coupled with the hometown Miami Marlins crowd cheering him on, expect the prodigious slugger to advance to the finals but not without challenges from Sanchez in the first round and Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano.

On the opposite side of the bracket, New York Yankees right fielder Judge, who leads MLB with 30 home runs, is the clear favorite to advance to the finals. Per ESPN's Home Run Tracker, Judge has an average true home run distance of 416.4 feet, which is seventh in the league. Notably, no one on the list above him has hit more than 16 homers.

Judge has been a marvel during batting practice (you can just Google "Aaron Judge batting practice" and get a list of stories about his prowess, like here and here), so it's easy to imagine doing well in a similar setting at the Home Run Derby.

Of course, there's the additional pressure of thousands of screaming fans, a national television audience and competing with seven other superstars, but Judge should be up to the task.

Take the Yankee rookie to beat Miami Marlins first baseman Justin Bour and Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon before besting Stanton in the finals.