Bryce Harper

Photo by: Robert Beck/SI

Bryce Harper is a name you will be hearing an awful lot over the next 11 months, touted as the Lebron James of baseball, he is a 16 year old wunderkid. Harper is a 6'3 205lb 16 year old who can hit baseballs 570 feet and hasn't even finished growing. He can steal bases, he's got a cannon for an arm, he's got great plate discipline, a good batting eye, and more power than most major leaguers twice his age. What's not to like? No, really, that was rhetorical, there is nothing not to like as a prospect.

Why are we talking about him now if he is only 16 and he isn't elligible to be drafted until 2011? Well see the bright young man has retained Scott Boras as his advisor, and between them have come up with the idea to withdraw from High School, get his G.E.D. and enroll in Junior College this upcoming year, which would make him elligible to be drafted in 2010, and the likely number 1 overall pick. Why force his hand and come out a year early you ask? Because the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires that year and there will have to be a new agreement put in place for 2011, with a major focus seeming to be on restricting spending in both the Amateur Draft and the international signing period. If MLB goes to some kind of rookie salary scale like the NBA or NHL, or a hard rookie salary cap, it could seriously restrict Harper's earnings early in his career.

There will be endorsements, there always are for stars with this much hype. There will be multi-million dollar free agency contracts. The question is who will win the lottery for the chance to be the team that Bryce Harper started his career for.

After seeing him in person, the hype is for real. His swing is quick, fluid and natural, good mechanics, he throws great from behind the plate with textbook form, and he can run like an outfielder. The only question is will he remain behind the plate and rival Matt Wieters as the next great thing to hit catching, or will he move to another position as he continues to grow? He's got the athleticism to play most anywhere, and the bat for any position. You have to ask yourself, is the worst team in baseball in 2009 really the biggest loser in the league if they get the right to draft this kid next June?