Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson to participate in Home Run Derby

Yasiel Puig failed to hit a single home run in the home run derby last year. Matt Kemp hit only one in 2012.

Can Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson do better?

Pederson will try to become the first Dodgers player to win the annual home-run hitting contest, the latest edition of which will take place Monday in Cincinnati.

Pederson, who leads the Dodgers with 20 home runs, was already scheduled to be in Cincinnati next week when he was selected as a reserve on the National League All-Star team.

He will be one of eight participants in the home run derby, which will consist of three rounds.

In the opening round, the fourth-seeded Pederson will square off against the fifth-seeded Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles.

The other first-round matchups: Albert Pujols (No. 1) vs. Kris Bryant (No. 8), Josh Donaldson (No. 3) vs. Anthony Rizzo (No. 6) and Todd Frazier (No. 2) vs. Prince Fielder (No. 7).