Harper set to test HR skills in Derby

Washington Nationals slugger and Las Vegas native Bryce Harper is one of the top boppers in this year’s Home Run Derby.

But he’s not the top seed.

That honor goes to Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, who had 23 homers as of Tuesday’s cutoff date. He now has 24.

Harper, who went to Las Vegas High and then had a standout season at College of Southern Nevada, is seeded second with 23 homers for Monday’s event at Nationals Park in Washington.

It’s the second Home Run Derby for the 25-year-old Harper, and the first for the rest of the field. Harper lost to Yoenis Cespedes in the 2013 final at Citi Field in New York.

Harper will open against No. 7 seed Freddie Freeman (16 homers), first baseman for the Atlanta Braves.

“It should be fun,” Freeman said. “I’m hoping the fans are excited for him and he gets nervous and gets a zero. But we’ll see what happens.”

The derby features eight seeded players. The pairings:

No. 1 Jesus Aguilar (24) vs. No. 8 Rhys Hoskins (14) of the Philadelphia Phillies, with the winner taking on the winner of No. 4 Alex Bregman (20) of the Houston Astros vs. No. 5 Kyle Schwarber (18) of the Chicago Cubs.

No. 2 Bryce Harper (23) vs. No. 7 Freddie Freeman (16), with the winner taking on the winner of No. 3 Max Muncy (22) of the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. No. 6 Javier Baez (19) of the Cubs.

The two second-round winners will meet in the final. Each derby round lasts four minutes. Players can gain an additional 30 seconds of swing time by hitting a ball 440 feet or farther on at least two occasions.

Competitors who are tied at the end of the round will each get an additional minute to try to hit as many homers as possible. If the score is still tied, each batter will get three swings until the deadlock is broken.

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