Into the Future

Is Bryce Harper the next Ken Griffey Jr.?

What did you accomplish before you were 18? Whatever it was, you probably were no Bryce Harper.

He’s already been called baseball’s “Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated. He’s drawn comparisons to some of the best players that Major League Baseball has ever seen. He’s already signed a multi-million dollar professional contract.

He’s also been called the future of the Washington Nationals organization and the most talked about prospect in Major League Baseball.

Harper’s talent has been talked about since his sophomore year of high school, when Sports Illustrated revealed that Harper had hit a 570-foot home run (if you can, read that link. A LOT of good info about the home run is in there) as a fifteen year old. If true, metal bat or not, high school baseball or not, 570 feet is 570 feet. Let’s take a look at Harper’s “qualifications”:

The Good: As a baseball prospect, Harper is rock-solid on paper. After getting his high school GED at age 16, Harper spent most of his seventeenth year on Earth playing college baseball at the College of Southern Nevada, where he hit .443 with 31 bombs and 98 RBI. Oh, and a meager OPS (On Base Plus Slugging) of 1.513 (.800 is considered good). His swing is lightning quick, his arm strength is incredible and his defensive strength is improving every day.

The Bad: Almost nothing. The only possible knock against him MIGHT be that he’s too big already. Where do you have to go when you’re already 6’3″ and 225 at 18?

The Ugly: Arrogance. Harper has been often criticized for his cockiness, which is actually not an overwhelmingly bad quality as a ballplayer. As an interview candidate, however, this can be a public nuisance to the team. Just ask the Giants and Barry Bonds.

Prediction: Big boom. Unlike Stephen Strasburg, Harper is a position player. Moving Harper from catcher to the outfield will likely extend his career, and will almost certainly allow him to keep healthy for a decent number of years. I may be biased, wanting to have “baseball’s answer to LeBron James” come to fruition, but Harper’s already being praised by professionals and amateurs alike, and there’s nothing in his past to suggest he can’t succeed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 at 6:50 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.