Jeff Fletcher over at AOL Fanhouse posted a lengthy article on hitting prospect Bryce Harper this evening. The article includes quotes from his college coach, who happens to be a friend of the family, and a major league scout.
Down On The Farm: Bryce Harper Is Human
I first read about Harper over at the Baseball Analysts blog written by Rich Lederer. Back in August 2008, Lederer titled his blog post “Remember This Name”, as he predicted Harper would be the first pick in the 2011 amateur draft. Little did he know that Harper would secure the services of Scott Boras, take the GEDs to graduate high school early and enter college in 2010. So, now Harper will be eligible to enter the 2010 amateur draft, and many scouts and prospect experts predict he will be the #1 pick.
Harper became a national phenom last summer when Sports Illustrated wrote a cover story on him calling him “Baseball’s Chosen One”, with a picture of Harper on the cover. Since then, everyone in baseball want to get a look at him in game action. Here’s an excerpt from Jeff’s article:
The Nationals, who have the No. 1 pick in the June draft, actually had five people at Friday night's game, including assistant general manager Roy Clark, special assistant Bob Boone and scouting director Kris Kline.
There were around 100 scouts and major league executives at Harper-palooza, including about 30 who had been to practice the day before. There were at least 10 scouting directors and at least one other assistant general manager at Friday's game. There would have been a decent showing even without Harper, because this was the first weekend of junior college baseball and Division I games don't start for another few weeks, but Harper's presence turned this into the epicenter of the baseball industry for one weekend.
Some aren’t so sure he will be the #1 pick in the 2010 draft. Here is what one scout had to say about him:
“I don’t think it’s a lock that he’s the best talent in the draft,” the scout said. “He’s definitely one of the best. I think the unfortunate thing for the kid is there’s no way he can live up to the hype.”
Here is what another scout had to say about him:
“I don’t think he’s the No. 1 player in the country,” the scout said. “He’s one of the best players in the country. I think the season will tell us who the best player in the country is. He’s one of the best.”
“There were a couple times he dogged it,” he said. “He’s got to realize that there are a lot of people that are expecting a lot of him, but he’s still a 17-year-old boy. He’s a young man. He’s just got to play the game and have fun, and if he starts to put all this pressure on himself and starts to doubt his ability at all, he’s going to hit a wall. Everybody knows him and everybody is shooting for him. He’s going to see everybody’s best.“Harper will be scrutinized by major league scouts till the June draft. Some will think the world of him, others will knock him for the littlest of weaknesses. By April or May, the Scott Boras rumor machine will start with rumored contract demands in dollar terms.
It will certainly be interesting how he will handle playing in the minors in 2011. Drafting him will be a big risk as he is only 17 years old. I have already heard rumors that he may grow to be too big to play catcher in the big leagues, which will hurt his value come draft day.
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