Link for Bryce Harper's current stats

[mweb]

Good stuff, Tony, thanks.

But in addition to what I assumed, I'd hate to see Harper burn out in any way. That would be an awesome addition to our system and he could get to the bigs quick.

Not sure about that given his age.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Not sure about that given his age.

Age 19 would not be out of the question if the bat is as good as advertised. He wouldn't make it as a catcher at that age, though.

[mweb]

Age 19 would not be out of the question if the bat is as good as advertised. He wouldn't make it as a catcher at that age, though.

It's rather unlikely imo. Maybe a late callup towards the end of his age 19 season at the earliest imo. Probably would be best to gain an extra year of control by waiting a little at the start of whatever year he's going to be brought up anyway.

[Stotle]

Age 19 would not be out of the question if the bat is as good as advertised. He wouldn't make it as a catcher at that age, though.

Somewhat high maintenance swing -- tough to tell how it will play and what tweaks will need to be made along the way. 19 would seem to be very aggressive, but who knows.

Completely agree with your last sentence -- I think RF is the only option for him to make it through the minors that quickly.

[Moose Milligan]

Somewhat high maintenance swing -- tough to tell how it will play and what tweaks will need to be made along the way. 19 would seem to be very aggressive, but who knows.

Completely agree with your last sentence -- I think RF is the only option for him to make it through the minors that quickly.

Can you explain what you mean by a high maintenance swing? Lots of moving parts/things that can go out of whack and cause a slump?

Why's RF the only option for him to make it through that fast? I was under the impression he can play pretty much anywhere on the diamond.

[rhall]

[1] Can you explain what you mean by a high maintenance swing? Lots of moving parts/things that can go out of whack and cause a slump?

[2] Why's RF the only option for him to make it through that fast? I was under the impression he can play pretty much anywhere on the diamond.

1) Stotle can explain it better, but his timing mechanicism is far from quiet. IIRC, he taps his toe slightly and then sort of rotates his front leg inwards before exploding to the ball. I've heard scouts say that he has the physical tools to hit for plus power without all that "stuff", so it'll be interesting to see if he gets coached into a quieter swing when he starts playing professionally.

2) Of the positions he could play professionally (C, 3B, RF), RF is the position he could move with the fastest because it's the easiest to move through the system even if the glove isn't as ready as the bat. He doesn't have that much experience at 3B, so you'd expect a learning curve there, and highschool catchers never move quickly (I know he's JUCO, but based on experience he's closer to HS than college). Harper may have the tools to play behind the plate, but present receiving polish isn't one of his strong suits. And I don't know how much I'd expect him to improve this season, since his JUCO coach has been playing him at multiple positions.

[Stotle]

Can you explain what you mean by a high maintenance swing? Lots of moving parts/things that can go out of whack and cause a slump?

Why's RF the only option for him to make it through that fast? I was under the impression he can play pretty much anywhere on the diamond.

Right, high maintenance is the fact that he has a lot of checkpoints between set-up, through his load and entering his swing. At the end of the summer his swing had gotten long and his timing in his lower-half had gotten a little out of whack. So far this spring at CSN he is much quicker to the ball.

Now, his bat speed is so impressive that he can live with a little length, but I still think it probably takes some reps for him to get used to the types of adjustments he'll need to make regularly at the pro level. Could be overreacting, but I think it's a fair possibility.

If not catching, I would try him at 3B before RF. He is taking infield at SS at CSN, but that's more a product of trying to fit in a lot of talented CSN players, which means shifting him around to get his ABs. I think he has a chance to stick at C or to shift to 3B, but he'll need defensive work at each position as a pro. If he's going to make it through the minors in 2 years, I think it will have to be at a low-challenge position like RF. I don't see him learning what he needs to learn at INF/C in that short a time span.

[Stotle]

1) Stotle can explain it better, but his timing mechanicism is far from quiet. IIRC, he taps his toe slightly and then sort of rotates his front leg inwards before exploding to the ball. I've heard scouts say that he has the physical tools to hit for plus power without all that "stuff", so it'll be interesting to see if he gets coached into a quieter swing when he starts playing professionally.

2) Of the positions he could play professionally (C, 3B, RF), RF is the position he could move with the fastest because it's the easiest to move through the system even if the glove isn't as ready as the bat. He doesn't have that much experience at 3B, so you'd expect a learning curve there, and highschool catchers never move quickly (I know he's JUCO, but based on experience he's closer to HS than college). Harper may have the tools to play behind the plate, but present receiving polish isn't one of his strong suits. And I don't know how much I'd expect him to improve this season, since his JUCO coach has been playing him at multiple positions.

Didn't see this -- yeah, RHall pretty much nails everything I had to say. Sorry for the repeat!

[rhall]

Didn't see this -- yeah, RHall pretty much nails everything I had to say. Sorry for the repeat!

Maybe, but you sound so much better saying it :laughlol: