Would you draft Bryce Harper?

[only11]

17 year old kid Bryce Harper will be the first pick in MLB draft..no way do i draft him first,i got drafted the same year Mike Mussina did we played in the pac ten,and attending college makes a world of difference..
MLB pitchers will eat him for lunch..Good luck to which ever team that drafts the CHOSEN ONE!!!!

[cj]

He will be a star. Any team that passes him up will look foolish down the road. Sure, it might take a few years, but he can play.

[Bettowin]

17 year old kid Bryce Harper will be the first pick in MLB draft..no way do i draft him first,i got drafted the same year Mike Mussina did we played in the pac ten,and attending college makes a world of difference..
MLB pitchers will eat him for lunch..Good luck to which ever team that drafts the CHOSEN ONE!!!!

Harper has already attended college:) Just didn't need as much as everyone else. Did A-rod, Jeter, Mauer go to college? I don't know but would bet if you ran down the list of superstars in MLB the majority of them didn't go to college?

[cj's dad]

Drafted #1 by the Nationals !

[Valuist]

The scouts say that as a high school sophomore he was as good as A-Rod and Griffey in their senior years.

[only11]

The scouts say that as a high school sophomore he was as good as A-Rod and Griffey in their senior years.
Can you name me a #1 pick whos in the HOF?

[OTM Al]

Can you name me a #1 pick whos in the HOF?

No, but considering the sample of those eligible is pretty small, this isn't surprising. Can you then tell me though the following won't make it

Ken Griffey Jr (1987)
Chipper Jones (1990)
Alex Rodriguez (1993)
Joe Mauer (2001)

Plus a couple guys who maybe should (Harold Baines, 1977) and would have except for personal problems (Darryl Strawberry, 1980)

The list of #1 picks does have some that never made a mark, but I recognize almost every name on it and many had good careers.

[only11]

No, but considering the sample of those eligible is pretty small, this isn't surprising. Can you then tell me though the following won't make it

Ken Griffey Jr (1987)
Chipper Jones (1990)
Alex Rodriguez (1993)
Joe Mauer (2001)

Plus a couple guys who maybe should (Harold Baines, 1977) and would have except for personal problems (Darryl Strawberry, 1980)

The list of #1 picks does have some that never made a mark, but I recognize almost every name on it and many had good careers.
My point was i was a former scout and we dont know anymore then the average fan we're more wrong then right.

[OTM Al]

My point was i was a former scout and we dont know anymore then the average fan we're more wrong then right.

I wouldn't give yourself so little credit as that. The list of #1 picks is pretty solid. Consider that some were lost to injuries that can be fixed now, and some to outright stupidity that had nothing to do with the potential. Here's the list btw

http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?

[Valuist]

Just heard the Nats called up Harper. Saw his Triple A stats this year: nothing great. 80 at bats 1 HR, .250 BA. Granted not a big sample size but we will see if he was brought up too soon.

[Valuist]

Nice steal of home last night in that game against the Phils. He's already made some nice plays in the outfield and seems to have the baseball instincts.

[BillW]

Just heard the Nats called up Harper. Saw his Triple A stats this year: nothing great. 80 at bats 1 HR, .250 BA. Granted not a big sample size but we will see if he was brought up too soon.

Kids like that aren't shooting for stats in the minors. Just like spring training for the bigs, these guys are working on things that don't necessarily contribute directly to short term success or wins in today's game.

[Valuist]

BTW, what a bush league move by Hamels plunking him. He admitted he wanted to hit him; not to get back at a Philly player getting hit. Just because he thought he was cocky. I'm sure Hamels will be taking a hit in the wallet from the league.

[Robert Fischer]

No wouldn't draft him.

[cj]

BTW, what a bush league move by Hamels plunking him. He admitted he wanted to hit him; not to get back at a Philly player getting hit. Just because he thought he was cocky. I'm sure Hamels will be taking a hit in the wallet from the league.

Totally agree.

I hate pitchers intentionally throwing at batters anyway, but at least most times there is a on field reason for it. This time there was none.

[BillW]

Totally agree.

I hate pitchers intentionally throwing at batters anyway, but at least most times there is a on field reason for it. This time there was none.

Harper stealing home on him and then staring him down was priceless!

[pandy]

Harper stealing home on him and then staring him down was priceless!

Loved it. I don't understand why you would intentionally hit a batter for no reason whatsoever.

[pandy]

Hamels just got a 5 game suspension for throwing at the Kid.

[fiveouttasix]

5 day suspension for a starting pitcher, will he even miss a start?

[pandy]

I know, not exactly a stiff penalty, although he was fined but I didn't see an amount. These grown men have to behave like macho jerks or they're not happy. Children are watching and now in Little League this week some kids will be throwing at batters and some poor kid will get hit in the head.

[BillW]

5 day suspension for a starting pitcher, will he even miss a start?
He'll lose 5 days Pay. A meaningful chunk of change.

[Robert Fischer]

Totally agree.

I hate pitchers intentionally throwing at batters anyway, but at least most times there is a on field reason for it. This time there was none.

Welcome to the majors, "Bryce Harper".

[Valuist]

Welcome to the majors, "Bryce Harper".

So you had no problem with what Hamels did?

[Striker]

Loved it. I don't understand why you would intentionally hit a batter for no reason whatsoever.
From what little we got to know School of Forego around these parts, this is exactly what Harper has done to his namesake leading up to his debut in the majors. He is notorious for running his mouth everywhere he goes, including the batting cage. The fact that he stared him down put him right back on Hamels level as far as I'm concerned. Harper got ejected and suspended in the junior college world series for doing some ridiculous things in the game of baseball--spiking the 1st baseman, drawing lines with his bat in front of the umpire to show umps how far pitches were outside the strike zone, just to name a few of them. He cut his hair into a mohawk for his MLB debut. You don't come into the league and act this way. I don't agree with what Hamels did, but I certainly understand why he did it.

[jdhanover]

From everything I read/see, if Harper can keep his immaturity in check and stay healthy, he will be the best player in our lifetime. Reports are he is THAT good.

I traded for him in one of my strat-o-matic leagues this past off-season (I am rebuilding). Eternal keeper league. Hoping the statement above proves correct.

What Hamels did was dumb - telling everyone he did it intentionally that is. Thing that makes what he did less worse in my book is he didnt throw at his head.

Still I think it is stupid when pitchers do that. But whatever.

[Valuist]

From everything I read/see, if Harper can keep his immaturity in check and stay healthy, he will be the best player in our lifetime. Reports are he is THAT good.

I traded for him in one of my strat-o-matic leagues this past off-season (I am rebuilding). Eternal keeper league. Hoping the statement above proves correct.

What Hamels did was dumb - telling everyone he did it intentionally that is. Thing that makes what he did less worse in my book is he didnt throw at his head.

Still I think it is stupid when pitchers do that. But whatever.

That is possible and I do want to see him play more but it is premature to make that kind of declaration. Basketball is one thing. The scouts rarely are wrong on the "sure things". In MLB, the "sure things" rarely are all that. For every Griffey and A-Rod, there's quite a few never-was.

[Robert Fischer]

I was able to see the guy a little recently.

He's a much better all-around ballplayer than I expected when I was thinking of the next great hitter. (He can run the bases and field pretty well).

At the plate he has great patience some of the time, and other times he can't decide if he wants to be a first-ball, fastball type of hitter. I am partial to a patient approach where the hitter gets "a good ball to hit", and gets on base. I think that if he stays in that kind of groove it will help translate his doubles power to more homeruns, and keep his on base% and even his batting avg. up.

Fundamentally he looks good at the plate.

[jdhanover]

Valuist - I agree...but I have never seen a guy gt these kinds of accolades. One service I use gave him their highest prospect rating....haven't seen them ever do that in the ten years I have use them. They say he is just freaky good.

[cj]

He still has some growing up to do judging by his recent actions. He'll miss a few days for assaulting himself with a bat.

[KingChas]

Harper reminds me of this guy,and he turned out all right. :ThmbUp:

http://blog.detroitathletic.com/2011/12/19/when-al-kaline-inked-a-deal-with-the-tigers-and-went-to-the-prom-in-the-same-night/

[Zydeco]

He went deep last night for his first HR and then went deep again in his second at bat today. Maybe that self inflicted conk on the head shook something up.

[cj's dad]

Harper reminds me of this guy,and he turned out all right. :ThmbUp:

http://blog.detroitathletic.com/2011/12/19/when-al-kaline-inked-a-deal-with-the-tigers-and-went-to-the-prom-in-the-same-night/

AK played a few years before my time but in the city at Southern H.S. They played their games at Swann Park which bordered Baltimore's harbor and the stories of his long home runs into the water are legendary.

[Robert Fischer]

AK played a few years before my time but in the city at Southern H.S. They played their games at Swann Park which bordered Baltimore's harbor and the stories of his long home runs into the water are legendary.

wow.
They've really let that field go to hell. Didn't know that Kaline played there. I had wondered if the Babe did.

Below is a current photo from google maps. Apparently they had shut down the field from 2007-2010? May 21, 2010|By Jessica Anderson, The Baltimore Sun
Crews worked around the clock this week unfurling rolls of sod, caulking bathrooms and chalking playing fields in preparation for Saturday's reopening of a South Baltimore park that has been closed for three years because of arsenic contamination.

City and state officials say the 11-acre Swann Park, where toxins were recorded at more than 100 times a safe level, is now fit for ballplayers and families.
Toxins?!
Briefly played for an amateur team on the top field which has since been refurbished and is facing the opposite direction that it used to face. (I remember all this because my highlight at Swann Park was when I managed to hit one on the railroad tracks at the bottom).

Also funny that it says there is a "Dog Resort and Spa"(above Mccomas street) because that used to be a junkyard with a mangy old dog that we would always see there. I feel like one of the back 2 the future movies where everything has changed.

http://oi46.tinypic.com/2d2f913.jpg