Bryce Harper's First College At Bat and Game Info

[cmcgarvey]

...and it's a walk.

You can listen here.

EDIT: I wanted to add a link that gives the info on Harper's first game as a pro. He went 1-3 with two RBI, a walk, stolen base and an error playing third base. An eventful and active night for the young man. I hope he has a big year.

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/harper-shows-flair-in-csn-debut-83143447.html

[Greg Pappas]

Thanks 'cmcgarvey'. I wanted to be sure I added the link in the OP rather than beginning another thread.

A good start by Harper...

[ChrisP]

Following the links in the article to the school, it sounds like a good as spot as any for a kid who should be in 11th grade.

[Moose Milligan]

Following the links in the article to the school, it sounds like a good as spot as any for a kid who should be in 11th grade.

I thought he was supposed to be a HS senior this year?

Draftniks, any possible way he falls to us? Granted theres a lot of baseball to be played between now and the draft but can we get him?

The Nats spent a bunch on Strasburg, they might not be willing to give out record deals in back to back years on prospects but it'd be hard to deny the excitement of Strasburg and Harper together. That would be quite a boost to that franchise. The most highly regarded pitching prospect ever as well as the most hyped/talented high school prospect to come out in years.

Pirates? It's the Pirates.

If he falls to us at 3, I can't see us not picking him. I can see the Nats going for pitching, taking Taillon or Ranaudo. Honestly, the Nats seem pretty motivated to compete quickly, I can see them taking Ranaudo, giving them an advanced college arm to pair with Strasburg, the goal being that Ranaudo can be up with Strasburg in the majors by sometime in 2011.

I can see the Pirates then taking Taillon, mainly passing on Harper due to signability....but still being happy that they're landing the top prep arm in the draft.

[stuckin82]

Unless they are lying, the Pirates are not so hot on Harper. Note comments by GM at their fanfest:

General manager Neal Huntington made a striking pronouncement on the 2010 draft yesterday by telling the PirateFest crowd that Bryce Harper, the Las Vegas catcher dubbed "Baseball's LeBron" by Sports Illustrated last June, is not currently among the Pirates' top 10. They pick second. "He's getting a lot of hype," Huntington said. "We will scout Bryce Harper. But we're not going to select him because somebody thinks he's the best prospect in the history of the game and we think he's the 10th-best."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10031/1032367-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml

[alexei606]

I thought he was supposed to be a HS senior this year?

Draftniks, any possible way he falls to us? Granted theres a lot of baseball to be played between now and the draft but can we get him?

The Nats spent a bunch on Strasburg, they might not be willing to give out record deals in back to back years on prospects but it'd be hard to deny the excitement of Strasburg and Harper together. That would be quite a boost to that franchise. The most highly regarded pitching prospect ever as well as the most hyped/talented high school prospect to come out in years.

Pirates? It's the Pirates.

If he falls to us at 3, I can't see us not picking him. I can see the Nats going for pitching, taking Taillon or Ranaudo. Honestly, the Nats seem pretty motivated to compete quickly, I can see them taking Ranaudo, giving them an advanced college arm to pair with Strasburg, the goal being that Ranaudo can be up with Strasburg in the majors by sometime in 2011.

I can see the Pirates then taking Taillon, mainly passing on Harper due to signability....but still being happy that they're landing the top prep arm in the draft.

This is the quote from the article that shows that he would have been a HS junior this year:

In Harper's much-anticipated debut since he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and skipped his last two years of high school

I think that if Kevin Goldstein is correct (he stated in his interview with Greg Pappas that Harper would not go number 1), then the Orioles have an excellent chance to draft Harper (and should). The Pirates (also see what stuckin82 said about the Pirates with link), IMO, will not draft Harper and probably none of the bigger money types (Taillon and Ranaudo also will be asking for big money, so don't expect the Pirates to select either of those).

The Pirates are also under pressure from the Players Union to pay out the revenue sharing money on team salaries. That to me, means that the Pirates will have to start with MLB players and not the amateur draft. As you stated, the Nationals may select someone like Ranuado - a big time College pitcher to team with Strasburg and later also with Zimmerman. They would then be well situated to do some damage and possibly win the NL East very soon.

[JTrea81]

Harper capped his night by hitting a sacrifice fly to left field in the eighth inning during an attempted intentional walk. He reached out and poked the opposite-field drive for his second RBI.

Wow does that bring back memories, bad ones of Todd Williams and Miguel Cabrera.

Also considering the Nats had that many people there including some of their FO guys, my guess is that he is #1 on their board. They aren't afraid to spend.

[Stotle]

I thought he was supposed to be a HS senior this year?

Draftniks, any possible way he falls to us? Granted theres a lot of baseball to be played between now and the draft but can we get him?

The Nats spent a bunch on Strasburg, they might not be willing to give out record deals in back to back years on prospects but it'd be hard to deny the excitement of Strasburg and Harper together. That would be quite a boost to that franchise. The most highly regarded pitching prospect ever as well as the most hyped/talented high school prospect to come out in years.

Pirates? It's the Pirates.

If he falls to us at 3, I can't see us not picking him. I can see the Nats going for pitching, taking Taillon or Ranaudo. Honestly, the Nats seem pretty motivated to compete quickly, I can see them taking Ranaudo, giving them an advanced college arm to pair with Strasburg, the goal being that Ranaudo can be up with Strasburg in the majors by sometime in 2011.

I can see the Pirates then taking Taillon, mainly passing on Harper due to signability....but still being happy that they're landing the top prep arm in the draft.

He would have been a junior. If he were a senior he would have been draft eligible and there would have been no reason to go to community college.

Regarding the bolded, unless Taillon struggles or takes a step back in stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if Harper doesn't get THAT much more than Taillon.

[panick]

If Mario and his very rich buddy from the Penguins end up buying the Pirates, they would probably be willing to pay for top draft talent.

The current Pirate management says the team is not for sale(and Nutting sounds like he wants to keep his family in charge forever), but there was a meeting a few months ago between Mario and the Pirates. The point of the meeting was to discuss the sale of the Pirates.

I wasn't surprised to see Nutting say the Bucs had Harper as the 10th best player in the draft. The first nine are probably guys who could be signed quickly and cheaply.

[Stotle]

If Mario and his very rich buddy from the Penguins end up buying the Pirates, they would probably be willing to pay for top draft talent.

The current Pirate management says the team is not for sale(and Nutting sounds like he wants to keep his family in charge forever), but there was a meeting a few months ago between Mario and the Pirates. The point of the meeting was to discuss the sale of the Pirates.

I wasn't surprised to see Nutting say the Bucs had Harper as the 10th best player in the draft. The first nine are probably guys who could be signed quickly and cheaply.

Law de-bunked this, noting "He was speaking hypothetically about rankings," and specifically about Harper being 10th.

[cmcgarvey]

Harper hit his first collegiate home run about 10 minutes ago.

[JTrea81]

Harper hit his first collegiate home run about 10 minutes ago.

And so it begins...

I highly doubt this guy, barring a major injury, isn't going #1 on draft day.

[jdmyprez]

If the Gods are smiling upon our beloved O's come draft day and we happen to get the opportunity to draft Harper than what would we do with him? From everything I have read on the kid, he is a great pitcher that can reach 96-97 on his fastball, he has the tools to play virtually any position he wants and he is basically a catcher because he likes being a catcher. Considering we have a young MW manning that position, do you think the O's would switch his position or would they want to stick with him at catcher for when MW leaves for free agency?

I know the odds are against us getting him but since there is not much else to talk about right now I figure it could be fun to see where people think Harper will end up.

[clapdiddy]

If the Gods are smiling upon our beloved O's come draft day and we happen to get the opportunity to draft Harper than what would we do with him? From everything I have read on the kid, he is a great pitcher that can reach 96-97 on his fastball, he has the tools to play virtually any position he wants and he is basically a catcher because he likes being a catcher. Considering we have a young MW manning that position, do you think the O's would switch his position or would they want to stick with him at catcher for when MW leaves for free agency?

I know the odds are against us getting him but since there is not much else to talk about right now I figure it could be fun to see where people think Harper will end up.

I'd have to think we'd switch his position. The question is which position? Is he athletic enough to play shortstop? I'm guessing that first/third base would probably be where he would wind up.

Heck...let him catch. If it comes down to it, maybe we trade Wieters down the line to fill an area of need.

[Stotle]

I'd have to think we'd switch his position. The question is which position? Is he athletic enough to play shortstop? I'm guessing that first/third base would probably be where he would wind up.

Heck...let him catch. If it comes down to it, maybe we trade Wieters down the line to fill an area of need.

He can't play SS but has the skillset to be a good 3B or RF. 1B would be a supreme waste of an 80 arm.