Last year all of the buzz was around starting pitcher Strasburg and this year the buzz should be around Bryce Harper. Harper first appeared in the National spotlight when he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was also called the Lebron James of baseball. His numbers in high school were amazing and he decided to drop out of high school as a 16 year old, play in college for one year so he can be in the baseball draft one year earlier (and so he can face some tougher competition).
Harper is a left handed pitcher, but if drafted, will probably be used for his hitting abilities. He also plays catcher well and also plays the hot corner. It is important to note that once going to college, Harper has only recording an inning as a pitcher. People still reference him as a pitcher because of his ability to throw 96 mph heat.
Lets take a look at his statistics:
2009 High School: .626 BA, 14 HR, 55 RBI,
2010 College: .417 BA, 168 AB, 21 HR, 64 RBI, 16 SB, 31 BB, 31 K
The question of course is whether he can do this is in the major leagues, and the can only be answered after he is drafted. It is going to take a big contract to sign him, so that might make some teams shy away. If the Nationals try, then they will have two of the most interesting prospects in their system. For the Mets, he could fall into their lap with the #5 pick. If that is the situation, unless there is a really good pitcher on the board, I think the Mets will have to roll the dice and take a risk with Harper.
Sports Illustrated Cover
All stats are from either the Wikipedia Page on Harper or his College website.
