It is one thing to blast onto The Major League Baseball scene and it is another thing to do it when you’re expected to do it. The Washington Nationals made outfielder Bryce Harper the number one overall pick of The 2010 MLB Draft and he brought tremendous expectations with him. Harper was the phenom of phenoms as he was connecting on 500-foot home runs in high school. It didn’t take Harper that long to assert himself with The Nationals organization before he was called up to the big club in late April 2012. Harper hit 22 homers and stole 18 bases while sporting a .270 batting average with 59 runs batted in. Harper would go on to earn a spot on The National League’s All-Star team last July as well as earning NL Rookie of The Year honors. Harper’s exploits helped The Nationals earn their first postseason berth since they relocated to Washington D.C. from Montreal, Canada in 2005.
With all of the praise and spotlight that has surrounded Harper it would be easy to see a let down in the form of the dreaded “sophomore jinx”. Harper has very quickly put this notion to bed as he leads The Nationals in home runs (9), runs batted in (18), and batting average (.373). Harper’s .783 slugging percentage currently leads The National League while his batting average is second.
The term phenom is thrown around for young professional athletes from time to time, but it fits with Harper. Harper’s natural ability is reminiscent of that when you create a player in a video game. You’ll give that player a cannon for an arm to go along with speed and power. These are all of the traits that Harper brings to the table as he could possibly be the best five-tool player to debut in baseball since former MLB player Ken Griffey Jr.
Nationals owner Ted Lerner and general manager Mike Rizzo have attached the future of their franchise to young players such as Harper. The scary thing about Harper’s situation is that he is only 20-years old as his body is not done filling out yet and his prime is still several years away. This is indeed a frightening proposition for the other teams in The National League East. In the season opener, Harper blasted two solo home runs as he accounted for all of The Nationals offense in a 2-0 victory over The Miami Marlins. Last Saturday, Harper went yard twice against The New York Mets as he was the difference in a 7-6 Nationals victory.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson appears to have given Harper a permanent spot in the third spot of The Nationals batting order and the youngster is not shying away from the role. Harper went 2-for-3 today with one home run and two runs batted in against The Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park in D.C. in a 6-3 victory for The Nats. Barring injury I project that Harper will finish this season with 34 home runs, 96 runs batted in with a .299 batting average.
Harper accomplished a ton in his rookie season and he is just at the tip of the iceberg as far as his talent. When Harper figures everything out this guy will become more of a household name than he already is which will show everyone the he is indeed as good as advertised.
Source:Baseball-reference.com
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