Bryce Harper Washington Nationals
Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals hits a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 29, 2018 in Philadelphia. Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Eight of the best hitters in baseball will put their power on display Monday night at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. The 2018 Home Run Derby kicks off MLB All-Star Week and is guaranteed to produce a first-time winner.

None of the players in this year’s competition has ever won the event before. The action starts at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN, and a live stream will be available with WatchESPN.

Bryce Harper is the only contestant that’s been in the Home Run Derby before, though he might not have much of an advantage. He competed five years ago and finished as the runner-up when there was a different format.

This year’s contestants have been seeded No.1 through No.8 (based on their regular-season home run totals) and put into a March Madness-style bracket. There will be four head-to-head matchups in the first round, and the winners will advance to the second round. The two semifinal winners will square off in the finals with first place on the line.

Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar might have less name recognition than anyone in the Home Run Derby, but he’s this year’s top seed. He leads the entire field with 24 home runs, tied for sixth in all of MLB.

Aguilar faces a difficult first-round matchup, even as the No.1 seed. He’ll face Philadelphia’s Rhys Hoskins, who set a record last year with 18 homers in his first 34 big-league games.

The Chicago Cubs are the only team with two representatives in Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez. Alex Bregman will represent the defending champion Houston Astros, while Max Muncy will compete from the defending National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman rounds out the field.

None of MLB’s top-five home run hitters are in the competition. That includes Jose Ramirez and J.D. Martinez, who are first in the majors with 29 first-half homers. Defending champion Aaron Judge passed on competing in the Home Run Derby after winning the contest last year.

2018 Home Run Derby Prediction

First Round: Rhys Hoskins over Jesus Aguilar, Kyle Schwarber over Alex Bregman, Bryce Harper over Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy over Javier Baez

Semifinals: Hoskins over Schwarber, Harper over Muncy

Finals: Harper over Hoskins

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