Sentiment growing for Harper in the bigs

I'm a Nats fan and I sincerely hope that Harper is playing CF for the Nats by midseason. That said, it seems crazy to think that he'll start the season in the bigs. It makes no sense to start him in the bigs and have that count against his free agency down the road. Would anyone trade a month of 19 year Bryce Harper for a full year of 24 year Bryce Harper? Start in AAA and move him up in late-May if he proves that he's ready for major league pitching.

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 08:25 AM ET  03.01 by Go_Bills

I'm a Nats fan and I sincerely hope that Harper is playing CF for the Nats by midseason. That said, it seems crazy to think that he'll start the season in the bigs. It makes no sense to start him in the bigs and have that count against his free agency down the road. Would anyone trade a month of 19 year Bryce Harper for a full year of 24 year Bryce Harper? Start in AAA and move him up in late-May if he proves that he's ready for major league pitching.

You are correct, sir.

I would understand starting him in the majors if the Nationals were in a better position to compete for the division this year.

Then again, if they add a second wild card this year, it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could compete for that.

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 08:25 AM ET  03.01 by Go_Bills

I'm a Nats fan and I sincerely hope that Harper is playing CF for the Nats by midseason. That said, it seems crazy to think that he'll start the season in the bigs. It makes no sense to start him in the bigs and have that count against his free agency down the road. Would anyone trade a month of 19 year Bryce Harper for a full year of 24 year Bryce Harper? Start in AAA and move him up in late-May if he proves that he's ready for major league pitching.

Makes sense to me, but they also need to draw people into the seats too.

I hope they do, and I can't wait for the first time he pulls any of the crap that he has in the minors.

I'de like to see him just to see his first mess up. I don't know how bad it will be, but he is young and brash.

QUOTE(#5):

Originally posted 09:14 AM ET  03.01 by bbech

I hope they do, and I can't wait for the first time he pulls any of the crap that he has in the minors.

Missed it by this much...
<holds up thumb and forefinger>

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 08:25 AM ET  03.01 by Go_Bills

I'm a Nats fan and I sincerely hope that Harper is playing CF for the Nats by midseason. That said, it seems crazy to think that he'll start the season in the bigs. It makes no sense to start him in the bigs and have that count against his free agency down the road. Would anyone trade a month of 19 year Bryce Harper for a full year of 24 year Bryce Harper? Start in AAA and move him up in late-May if he proves that he's ready for major league pitching.

He's slated to play right field, at what ever level he starts at.

If the Nats have a need for him and he is able to handle MLB pitching, then why not? Him and Strasburg will fill the seats and more than pay for his lost arbitration year.

Must be baseball season. Here we go with another round of friggin' Nats-Harper-Strassburg threads.

Harper hasn't been all that he's hyped to be in the minors. Sure he's been pretty good but I think he could stand to stay at AAA this year nad benefit greatly by one more year of instruction....one more year to mature.

QUOTE(#15):

Originally posted 12:02 PM ET  03.01 by Yogi-Zen

Harper hasn't been all that he's hyped to be in the minors

What?

He absolutely lived up to the hype.

Harper OPSed .894 in his first year in professional baseball at 18 years of age.

Then he stepped it up in the Arizona Fall League, which is comprised of the best prospects in baseball, completely dominating pitchers to the tune of .333/.400/.634/1.034. He was the youngest player in that league.

QUOTE(#15):

Originally posted 12:02 PM ET  03.01 by Yogi-Zen

Harper hasn't been all that he's hyped to be in the minors. Sure he's been pretty good but I think he could stand to stay at AAA this year nad benefit greatly by one more year of instruction....one more year to mature.

I wouldn't argue with your general premise that another year -- or a couple months -- in AAA would be good for his development, but the notion that he hasn't lived up to the hype is incorrect.

Baseball Prospectus wrote the following about him in their 2012 annual:

One could argue that Harper entered the year as the most hyped prospect in the history of the game, yet somehow he managed to live up to, if not exceed, expectations. His power is not only tremendous, but already shows up in games, and concerns about his violent swing leading to huge strikeout totals turned out to be unfounded. While his attitude rubs plenty of people the wrong way, nobody questions his work ethic, which showed in the problem-free transition to the outfield, where his top-of-the-line arm turned into a weapon. While Moore is the most likely [prospect] to win a Cy Young award, Harper is the most likely to win an MVP award, and will likely hit the majors as a teenager.

QUOTE(#18):

Originally posted 01:34 PM ET  03.01 by SlinkyRedfoot

I wouldn't argue with your general premise that another year -- or a couple months -- in AAA would be good for his development, but the notion that he hasn't lived up to the hype is incorrect.Baseball Prospectus wrote the following about him in their 2012 annual:One could argue that Harper entered the year as the most hyped prospect in the history of the game, yet somehow he managed to live up to, if not exceed, expectations. His power is not only tremendous, but already shows up in games, and concerns about his violent swing leading to huge strikeout totals turned out to be unfounded. While his attitude rubs plenty of people the wrong way, nobody questions his work ethic, which showed in the problem-free transition to the outfield, where his top-of-the-line arm turned into a weapon. While Moore is the most likely [prospect] to win a Cy Young award, Harper is the most likely to win an MVP award, and will likely hit the majors as a teenager.

Great, you killed it.
you got to suck them in...then wallop them.

Isn't this story way ahead of itself? If....IF Harper tears it up in Spring Training, then this becomes the story. He hit a decent .256 in AA last year, hardly an overwhelming performance.

There are lots more players who were ruined by being pushed into a situation they were not ready for than 19 year olds who have thrived in the majors.