2018 Home Run Derby Rules Explained

Tonight's Home Run Derby has some new rules. We've got you covered.

The 2018 MLB Home Run Derby will be held tonight at Nationals Park at 8 p.m. ET. 

In the 2017 Derby, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge took home the title after sending nearly four miles of home runs soaring in Marlins Park in his Derby debut. Judge declined to participate this year. Without Judge in the lineup tonight, eight new competitors will take the field to compete for this year's title. 

Seven of tonight's contenders hail from the National League, with Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman acting as the sole representative of the American League.

The eight players are seeded into a bracket based on the number of home runs hit in the current season. With 24 home runs, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jesus Aguilar takes the No. 1 seed. Washington's own Bryce Harper is the No. 2 seed with 23 homers.

Check out the bracket below:

The bracket for the 2018 MLB Home Run Derby! pic.twitter.com/tai9MAU4yG

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 12, 2018

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Here are the rules on how it works:

In the bracket format, players go head-to-head against an opponent in the single-elimintation event. Each player will have four minutes per round to hit as many home runs as they can. If the second player in the head-to-head matchup surpasses the total home runs of his opponent before the four minutes are finished, that player automatically advances. 

By hitting a homer more than 440 feet, as judged by Statcast, batters will earn 30 seconds of bonus time for the round. 

In the event of a tie, a 60-second swing-off will take place. If two players still remain tied, three swing-offs take place until the tie is broken.

In the end, only one winner will be crowned.

The MLB All-Star Game will be held on Tuesday.