The 2022 MLB Home Run Derby Is Finally Here — Here's How You Can Watch

Major League Baseball's All-Star Week is officially here!

The celebration kicked off on Saturday, July 16 with the annual All-Star Celebrity Softball Game. There were plenty of exciting moments, including JoJo Siwa's inside-the-park home run and Bryan Cranston getting ejected in the game's final inning.

Is there anything that can top such an eventful night?

Although it doesn't seem like it, there is something that can and it's called the Home Run Derby. We don't know about you, but we've been looking forward to this competition all year. If you're hoping to tune in, keep reading to learn how to watch.

The annual Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 18, 2022, at 8 p.m. EST.

If you have a cable subscription, all you have to do is head to ESPN or ESPN2 to watch the event. However, if you're looking to stream the Home Run Derby instead, there are a few options available: fuboTV or ESPN Plus.

ESPN Plus starts at $6.99 per month, while fuboTV offers a free trial.

The 2022 Home Run Derby participants include:

• Kyle Schwarber — Left fielder, Philadelphia Phillies
• Pete Alonso — First baseman, New York Mets
• Corey Seager — Shortstop, Texas Rangers
• Juan Soto — Left fielder, Washington Nationals
• Jose Ramírez — Third baseman, Cleveland Guardians
• Julio Rodríguez — Center fielder, Seattle Mariners
• Ronald Acuña Jr. — Right fielder, Atlanta Braves
• Albert Pujols — Designated hitter, St. Louis Cardinals

All eight batters receive a seed for the opening round. The seeding is based on the participants' 2022 home run totals heading into the All-Star break. Tiebreakers were determined by 2021 home run totals. Check out the official bracket below.

• No. 1 Kyle Schwarber vs. No. 8 Albert Pujols
• No. 2 Pete Alonso vs. No. 7 Ronald Acuña Jr.
• No. 3 Corey Seager vs. No. 6 Julio Rodriguez
• No. 4 Juan Soto vs. No. 5 José Ramírez

If we take a look at the betting odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, the favorite to win the 2022 Home Run Derby is none other than two-time defending champion Pete Alonso. This would be the slugger's third consecutive championship, making him the only player in MLB history to win three titles back-to-back-to-back.

So, how does Pete plan to secure the win? By hitting one out of the park.

"People tell me all the time that with the Derby balls and the environment that I'd probably be able to put one in the parking lot," Pete told ESPN. "So I think that'd be fun. Hit one actually outta the stadium."

If you aren't too familiar with the rules of the Home Run Derby, we're here to catch you up to speed!

The tournament consists of three rounds and follows a single-elimination system. Each participant has three minutes in the first and second rounds to hit as many home runs as they can before the timer strikes zero.

After the first round, the winning batters move on. The winner of the Schwarber-Pujols matchup will face the winner of Soto-Ramírez, and the Alonso-Acuña winner meets the Seager-Rodríguez winner. The final will then two batters face off in the final round, with the champion receiving $1 million of the $2.5 million prize pool.

Now, here are some extra rules:

• Each batter gets 30 seconds of extra time at the end of each round; an additional 30 seconds (for a total of 60 seconds) will be awarded if the participant hit a home run at least 440 feet during the regulation period.
• Each player gets one 45-second timeout in each of the three rounds (can't be called during the bonus periods).

Tune in to the 2022 Home Run Derby on Monday, July 18 at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN.