The Washington Nationals played 323 games between 3/30/08 and 10/4/09, and of those 323 games, they lost 205. It’s not a whole lot of fun to be a terrible baseball team - especially a terrible baseball team with little in the way of long-term direction - but sustained misery in sports is not without its upside, and the upside for the Nationals is that their vile pair of seasons has put them in position to draft two of the greatest young talents the baseball world has seen in a long long time.
Bryce Harper Is Making Things Really Easy On The Nationals
↵Last year, the Nationals selected the much-hyped Stephen Strasburg first overall, to little surprise. The Nats own the #1 pick again in 2010, and what better choice than a possible battery mate for the team’s future ace?
↵↵Barring an injury or a drastic change, the Nationals plan to take 17-year-old catcher Bryce Harper with the first pick in the June Draft, according to a source familiar with the situation. They see Harper as being head and shoulders above anyone else in the 2010 draft class and believe he could reach the majors within 2 1/2 years.
↵↵Harper has been on scouts’ radars since before he was born - a catcher with a gifted arm and enough power to blast a 500-foot homer with an aluminum bat as a 16 year old. Rather than finishing high school, Harper completed his GED last December and enrolled in junior college so as to become eligible for the 2010 draft, and while some saw that as a risk, Harper’s performance at Southern Nevada has eased all concerns. Using a wood bat, Harper’s hit .422/.516/.891, with 15 homers and 12 stolen bases for good measure. The team’s #2 and #3 home run hitters combine for Harper’s individual total.
↵Strasburg was a sure thing a year ago, and Harper’s a sure thing this time around. While the Nationals have long been a rudderless ship, those two might just serve as dolphins by the hull.
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