The Bryce Harper Watch

[Potomac Cannons]

Obed - sorry on this one, but I have not seen any recent posts indicating he is thought to be a jerk or has a bad attitude.  What you are saying is directly contradicted by Kilgore and Kerr.  The articles you sight are, for the most part, anonymous things written before he signed.  I did a few google searches with his name and "arizona" in it, with a date restriction of the past month, and could come up with nothing other than a few sour posts by commenters on WaPo blogs (not reporters).  The onus is on you to find something current.

Exactly.  There's nothing but anonymous stuff from months ago.  Nothing with an actual name attached to it.  His teammates haven't had a single negative thing to say publicly.  His managers haven't had a single negative thing to say publicly.  Some scouts who refuse to put their name out there with their opinion are the only ones "on record."

[Potomac Cannons]

I wish I would have ignored Cannon's trolling.

Frankly at this point I don't give a damn. Believe whatever you want or do your own damn research on Harper's college year. I never said a word about the AFL.

Provide anything with an actual name attached to it to support your view.

[PANatsFan]

Dagerrrrr - sorry, that is the silent treatment after his first HR.  You don't sit that still if it is not the silent treatment.  Rather than being a sign of resentment, I'd venture that it is more of a sign of his popularity. 

Like I said, as intensely interested as he is in these games, he has to be in with the other players. That's pretty infectious.

[Sharp]

I just realized that we're going to be overanalyzing every little morsel and tidbit of information we get about Bryce Harper for the next two years.  Don't know how I feel about that.

[Coladar]

I just realized that we're going to be overanalyzing every little morsel and tidbit of information we get about Bryce Harper for the next two years.  Don't know how I feel about that.

We should be used to it after Strasburg. Granted he only played every five days, but a player of this popularity this early in their professional career should be old news to us by now.

[Sharp]

With Strasburg I was analyzing his performance, which at least felt justifiable.  I wasn't worried about his makeup or progress or whatever because he was already performing at the highest possible level.  With Bryce it'll be different.

[Coladar]

With Strasburg I was analyzing his performance, which at least felt justifiable.  I wasn't worried about his makeup or progress or whatever because he was already performing at the highest possible level.  With Bryce it'll be different.

I agree, it's absolutely a different situation. I just meant as far as the extraordinary circumstance of monitoring a player closely starting with their first few professional games. There are a handful of players in major league history that not only the fanbase, but national media, even hears about their first year. That the Nats have had two in two years is beyond exceptional. So I was referring to the fact that, amazingly, we already have had one player we analyzed every game starting with their first professional game in the past year, and now have another. But likewise, not only the difference between analyzing a pitchers once a week performance versus a hitter, but the level of development difference Strasburg was at compared to Harper, I understand what you mean by the difference between the two. I don't think it's going to be such an odd or difficult thing as you imagine, I'm guessing, because I think Harper is going to have a rapid rise in the minor leagues. It's one thing to overanalyze a player who has a year in Low/High A ball, another year in AA and a third in AAA, as well as half a year in instructional and AFL. Harper might be here by mid-2011 at this rate, so hopefully it won't be the long, tedious and rather ridiculous process that it could possibly be.

[NJ Ave]

Hopefully it won't be too rapid an ascent. The biggest recipe for failure for Harper, in my opinion, is if they push him up through the system because of his power - let's face it, the kid is going to put up a .300 ISO - and ignore his possible lack of plate discipline. If he puts up a .290/.320/.600 line in single-A with, say, 10 walks and 60 strikeouts in 200 at bats, people are going to be clamoring for him to be moved up rapidly. And he absolutely won't be ready.

However, as some scouts are saying, it's possible that he's just pressing because he wants to make so much happen in the 2 games he's playing per week, and that his plate discipline will be much better playing full time.

[Sharp]

If he puts up a .290/.320/.600 line I, for one, will not be clamoring for him to move up.  Those would be pretty subpar numbers for a top prospect in single A, other than the power (which we already knew about).

[NatsDad14]

If he puts up a .290/.320/.600 line I, for one, will not be clamoring for him to move up.  Those would be pretty subpar numbers for a top prospect in single A, other than the power (which we already knew about).

That is not subpar at all for a top prospect in Single A. Jason Heyward put up a .849 OPS in A ball. Carlos Santana was .923. That would be right in line with other top prospects especially if you account for his age.

[Lintyfresh85]

A .320 OBP would pretty much be terrible.

[NatsDad14]

A .320 OBP would pretty much be terrible.

I doubt he has an OBP that bad. He'll get pitched around enough to be at least .340. Another top prospect who has a low OBP is Mike Moustakas.

[NJ Ave]

Well, Jason Heyward drew a bunch of walks and didn't strike out all that much, indicating a very good approach at the plate. Carlos Santana struck out more but also walked a lot more. If he puts up number similar to them I'd agree he's ready to move up. I'm afraid of what happens if he's more like Greg Halman (.268/.320/.572 in high-A). Halman also had the massive power that continued to get him promoted, but was never successfully taught plate discipline (eerily similar .243/.310/.545 in triple-A this year).

[Nick the Pig]

If he puts up a .290/.320/.600 line I, for one, will not be clamoring for him to move up.  Those would be pretty subpar numbers for a top prospect in single A, other than the power (which we already knew about).

No, those wouldn't.

Except for the .320 OBP.  Which, for someone hitting .290 and slugging .600 (regardless of what level they're playing at, particularly if it's an 18 year old at high-A) is damn near irrelevant.

[Sharp]

I guess it's just that we sort of expect Bryce Harper to hit line drives and slug at a high percentage, while his plate discipline is questionable.  So to me the OBP would be the most important thing to keep track of in the minors.  Of course, I'm not a minor league manager so I don't really know crap about his situation.

[Nick the Pig]

I guess it's just that we sort of expect Bryce Harper to hit line drives and slug at a high percentage, while his plate discipline is questionable.  So to me the OBP would be the most important thing to keep track of in the minors.  Of course, I'm not a minor league manager so I don't really know crap about his situation.

Don't sabergeek Harper at this point, please.  Someone putting up a .290 .320 .600 line in high-A ?  That would be pretty damn good, no matter how you slice it.

Don't you think that there would be pitchers scared crapless of throwing something that Bryce could hit 550+ feet ?  And don't you think that this high school senior (yeah, that's what he'd be right now, taking 12th grade English and an elective or two) would naturally want to hit every pitch the aforementioned 550+ feet if possible ?

If he reaches those #'s, promote him as fast as possible.

[NJ Ave]

If you have as much talent as Harper has, the point of the minors isn't to prove you can crush substandard pitching. The point is showing that you can make the adjustments necessary to hit at the major league level. For him, that involves pitch recognition and plate discipline.

If a .300 ISO means he should be promoted to the upper minors, just start him there now, because I don't think anyone expects him to hit for less power than that in single-A. Personally, I think he should have to show the ability to lay off the pitches he hits the worst, and swing mostly at the pitches he hits the best. Otherwise, you're setting him up for failure as soon as he reaches a league where pitchers aren't throwing 2 fat fastballs per at bat.

[Sharp]

Harpers struck out swinging in his first plate appearance today.

[Lintyfresh85]

Bum.

[Nathan]

PATTERSON HIS ASS!

[Sharp]

He's the only one on the entire team who has struck out too.  And did it on just three pitches.  Shameful.

Second PA resulted in a bunt single (WTF?) and third was a walk.  Don't get too excited about the walk though, the pitcher had walked the previous batter and only one of the balls was close.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

only one of the balls was close.

I just wiped out an Elijah Dukes joke I was going to post.

[Nathan]

That might hurt you in the polls.

[Obed_Marsh]

Provide anything with an actual name attached to it to support your view.

Ain't my view asshat.  

My view is that his teammates opinion is currently indeterminate. You can pretend that the press and these unnamed scouts are not questioning his character but that is polly anna b.s. It is baseball. It has the code. Wait a decade or two for affirmation or denial of your perspective on his teammates views. At this point, you are reading tea leaves and press releases. It is too early to tell if you are smelling crap or fertilizer.

Sure, at this point and time, it is all rumor and FUD; to the extent I have bothered to look. Clubhouse stuff by design stays out of the press. The point is that the way the game is played what you are asking for won"t come out till years later but in the meantime it is a legitimate discussion topic and it is dumb to pretend otherwise.

I thought Brian Schnieder seemed like a nice guy till people around here told me he was a racist piece of crap. If true, freak him. If untrue than freak the people who made up that b.s. but I doubt it will become clear for a long time if ever because he doesn't have the insane public profile Harper does.

The hell with anyone who thinks I have an obligation to commit to some kind of false certainty about something that is by design kept behind closed doors and therefore rarely reported. I am not going to tear down Harper just because I am unwilling to deny he has critics or because I acknowledge he is a cocky kid who is living an insanely high profile life and that maybe, just maybe he might be a little unusual in the modern era. He could very well be a mix of all the worst attitudes of Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth and be a jerk to his teammates. How his talent is realized; time will tell, but I am damn glad we signed him attitude and all. If you think this is some kind of dig; look back in threads; I have been following this kid for awhile, just not blindly.

Do I want him to be a nice guy and do everything he has bragged about and stay with team forever; sure. Am I going to ignore, dismiss, or ridicule anything that doesn't correspond to my preconceived notion; hell no.

So hopefully Harper wins us some games with that smile and his teammates warpaint eye block tributes. Yet at the same time the hell with a bunch of professionals feelings who play a kids game so long as it does not drag the team down into limping through another cellar dweller year.

[tomterp]

Obed doing some fine work at almost 4 am.