Bryce Harper's First College At Bat and Game Info

[DocJJ]

the Nats had 4 scouts and their cross-checker at the game.

Looks like we'll have to decide between Taillon, Raynaudo or someone else..

[cmcgarvey]

Interesting article by Jeff Fletcher:

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/02/01/bryce-harper-embarks-on-old-college-try/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[wickedwitch]

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.

What's preventing him from being a good SS?

[Moose Milligan]

the Nats had 4 scouts and their cross-checker at the game.

Looks like we'll have to decide between Taillon, Raynaudo or someone else..

We'll see....

Four months from the draft, it's no sure thing that Harper will be the No. 1 pick. He's not Stephen Strasburg yet.

"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."

Harper stands out from the other players at this level, but it's not as dramatic as it would have been had he returned for another year of high school baseball. He's not going to hit .600 out here, not against more mature pitchers and not while swinging a wood bat. (The Scenic West Athletic Conference is one of the only college conferences in the nation that uses wood bats.)

In Harper's debut, he went 1-for-3 with a strikeout, a walk and a sacrifice fly (on a pitch that was supposed to be an intentional ball, by the way). Harper went hitless in eight trips in a doubleheader on Saturday.

[Jimbo81]

Interesting article by Jeff Fletcher:

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/02/01/bryce-harper-embarks-on-old-college-try/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

This kid is going to be a great GM one day.

See what I did there? I made a joke about this kid who is supposed to be the best ever and turned it into a Money ball joke.

I kid.

Hope we draft him:D

[allstar1579]

I wouldn't go thinking anyone is a lock for any pick just yet. There will be a lot of talk knocking Harper to try to keep his price down, regardless of how he does...Taillon, like Stotle said, shouldn't be far behind Harper money wise, and either one of them could demand enough to scare some teams off. For all the people who think they know what the Nats or Pirates will do, remember PIT took the below slot route in the 1st this year, and the Nats just spent a record amount last year, banking on them to go back to back on that record isnt the most solid bet.

[RandyM]

I wouldn't go thinking anyone is a lock for any pick just yet. There will be a lot of talk knocking Harper to try to keep his price down, regardless of how he does...Taillon, like Stotle said, shouldn't be far behind Harper money wise, and either one of them could demand enough to scare some teams off. For all the people who think they know what the Nats or Pirates will do, remember PIT took the below slot route in the 1st this year, and the Nats just spent a record amount last year, banking on them to go back to back on that record isnt the most solid bet.

What did we do this past year? We went with a slot pick last year also, but we spent money elsewhere like PIT? How are we different than PIT?

Oh, PIT pasted on Wieters 3 years ago? That was a totally different FO. They spent big bucks on Alvarez with the new FO the following year.

Guess we do have the quote from the GM from PIT.

Probably misdirected at you AS, but a lot of people are making excuses whey PIT won't draft top expensive talent. That exact same argument can be made against BAL too.

Some how I can see 4 players I don't see the O's drafting. I hope I am wrong, I would be sorely disappointed.

Harper

Taillon

Ranaudo

Cole

[cmcgarvey]

This kid is going to be a great GM one day.

See what I did there? I made a joke about this kid who is supposed to be the best ever and turned it into a Money ball joke.

I kid.

Hope we draft him:D

I kind of hope we don't.

This isn't based on fear that he might not be a great player, but more on my fear that Billy Rowell would be a horrible GM. [insert emoticon]

[allstar1579]

[/b]

What did we do this past year? We went with a slot pick last year also, but we spent money elsewhere like PIT? How are we different than PIT?

Oh, PIT pasted on Wieters 3 years ago? That was a totally different FO. They spent big bucks on Alvarez with the new FO the following year.

Guess we do have the quote from the GM from PIT.

Probably misdirected at you AS, but a lot of people are making excuses whey PIT won't draft top expensive talent. That exact same argument can be made against BAL too.

Some how I can see 4 players I don't see the O's drafting. I hope I am wrong, I would be sorely disappointed.

Harper

Taillon

Ranaudo

Cole

Yeah, I'm not saying that they will definitely pass, but I could see it happening, just as easily as I could see them take any one of the top players, just depends on their draft philosophy this year, which only 2 or 3 people will know.

You're right, there is the possibility that BAL could too, but I'd like to think that being closer to competing that we wouldn't. The lower levels got a nice influx of talent the past 2 years, and I'd hope now that they will go for some blue-chip type guys to add to that.

[Ruzious]

I wish Billy... er Bryce... a lot of luck. :scratchchinhmm:

[scottbbfm]

Here's a link

http://sites.csn.edu/dcabrera/baseball/2010/teamcume.htmto his stats.

Player   avg  gp-gs  ab  r  h  2b  3b  hr  rbi  tb  slg%  bb  hbp  so  gdp  ob%  sf  sh  sb-att  po  a  e  fld%  Thomas, Ryan   .394  11-10  33  7  13  3  0  2  10  22  .667  3  2  6  0  .474  0  0  0-0  46  1  1  .979  Cook, Trent   .393  16-16  61  14  24  5  2  1  14  36  .590  5  1  10  2  .441  1  0  1-3  94  3  0  1.000  Kirk, Trevor   .373  16-16  59  21  22  1  2  1  11  30  .508  12  2  8  0  .486  1  0  11-12  20  1  3  .875  Higa, Daniel   .360  16-16  50  12  18  2  1  0  8  22  .440  11  2  13  3  .484  1  0  1-3  12  50  5  .925  [b]Harper, Bryce   .356  16-16  59  16  21  7  1  4  18  42  .712  11  0  15  0  .451  1  0  3-5  86  9  1  .990  [/b]Dysinger, Scott   .276  16-16  58  14  16  1  1  0  11  19  .328  12  0  13  5  .394  1  0  4-5  24  36  5  .923 

The kid is living up to the hype - a few too many K's though.

[Tony-OH]

[/b]

What did we do this past year? We went with a slot pick last year also, but we spent money elsewhere like PIT? How are we different than PIT?

Oh, PIT pasted on Wieters 3 years ago? That was a totally different FO. They spent big bucks on Alvarez with the new FO the following year.

Guess we do have the quote from the GM from PIT.

Probably misdirected at you AS, but a lot of people are making excuses whey PIT won't draft top expensive talent. That exact same argument can be made against BAL too.

Some how I can see 4 players I don't see the O's drafting. I hope I am wrong, I would be sorely disappointed.

Harper

Taillon

Ranaudo

Cole

The major difference is that the Orioles will pay for premium talent (Wieters/Matusz) if they believe the player is a premium guy. As I've said 1000 times already, the Orioles did not believe the players available last year were worth the premium price tags they were asking for. It has nothing to do with the Orioles reluctance to spend for premium guys if they happen to fall to them.

[Robbie]

The major difference is that the Orioles will pay for premium talent (Wieters/Matusz) if they believe the player is a premium guy. As I've said 1000 times already, the Orioles did not believe the players available last year were worth the premium price tags they were asking for. It has nothing to do with the Orioles reluctance to spend for premium guys if they happen to fall to them.

Wasn't Matusz considered an easy sign before the draft?

[rhall]

Wasn't Matusz considered an easy sign before the draft?

I don't remember Matusz being touted as a guy who would sign for slot, but he wasn't expected to be a deadline signee either. So, that was something that changed after the draft.

BUT, saying a guy is a premium talent doesn't have anything to do with signability. They often go hand-in-hand, but they are 2 separate things. Before the draft, after the draft, whenever you want to look at it, Matusz was considered a premium player. According to most sources, he was the best pitcher in the draft. And at the end of the day, you can see that the Orioles were willing to spend to bring Matusz into the fold.

[RandyM]

The major difference is that the Orioles will pay for premium talent (Wieters/Matusz) if they believe the player is a premium guy. As I've said 1000 times already, the Orioles did not believe the players available last year were worth the premium price tags they were asking for. It has nothing to do with the Orioles reluctance to spend for premium guys if they happen to fall to them.

I understand that point. But really what I was trying to say is that it seems like the Pirates will do the same. That is pay premium money for premium talent if they value a player as such.

For people to point out that the Pirates drafting Sanchez with their 1st pick makes them less likely to draft Harper is like saying the O's won't draft Harper because they drafted Hobgood. It seemed like both teams viewed the "top" talent not worth the premium money they were demanding earlier. The argument if that was the right approach last year has been debated already way too much.