Bryce Harper Update

Harper went 1 for 4 and another K plus got picked of first. All of his hits in two games have been singles. Nothing spectacular yet, next game on Friday.

Lot of pressure on that guy's shoulders right now after the anouncement. Not surprised that he is pressing a bit and struggling.

How is Mike doing?? How is the team doing overall??

Looks to me like he's 3 for 8 with a double and 2 BBs. That's a .500 obp. Couple that with the pressure redsox8191 notes and I'd say the kid is doing alright. But then there is an argument to be made that a player with that much hype should be doing much better. Let's see where he stands when the tournament is over.

.
While he'll have up's and downs...

...there are ovbiously many parts to his moving to the next level...Early Statistics and current/early performance are only one...

Outside of golf and tennis that are largely performance based on specific player results and rankings...The major sports are decision maker or subjectively based, and that means that some has to choose you, that means that someone has to like you, (popularity contest) and that may not always be based upon performance, or at least as much as we might think....or want.

As we all know physical tools play a huge role. Harper is big, strong, fast and has an arm..and he's only going to get bigger stronger and faster. The decision makers know that. What he has in this respect they already know and want, regardless of current performance. Stats or performance will not affect this much.

Like it or not...and perhaps most importantly...reputation plays a huge, huge role. Bigger than current stats. College recruiters want to know who else you are being recuited by. Once you have been drafted once even in low rounds you are forever marked as one of the chosen. Why? First, bandwagon. People do not want to get left behind. Second they trust the opinions of other "experts" in their field and feel more comfortable in a crowd. With the hype he has gotten to date Harper now one of the chosen ones that will not change muhc with stats or even performance for a long while.

And, there is an acclimation period to the game to the ptessure. The decison makers understand this. Some players fail to impress in the minors for years and years if they are chosen they still are looked upon favorably and still often move up. The investement in $ that was made counts as well.

He'll be just fine, long term in the eyes that count...those of the decision makers.

I want to make sure my comments are taken in the right manner. I am not bashing the kid, he obviously has some great tools. And yes, as I noted, one game, one tournament etc means nothing.

Its the hype surrounding Harper that would concern me if I were his parents. He walked into TOS registration at about 6 pm and and was greeted by autograph seekers. Media on him constantly and every AB, throw, baserunning play is under the microsope. There is a comment on his every play especially when his play doesn't meet expectations (unfair to him).

Ok he wants better competition than in HS and is going to JUCO for that, I can understand his game plan but if he is doing this to go into the draft next year he may not be ready based on what I have seen in two games (and yes its only two games).

He ended up doing reasonably well. 10 for 22, 3 doubles, 4 walks, 4 Ks, 7 runs. and 2 for 3 on steals. What was somewhat surprising was the fact that he threw out only 3 of 14 runners. While some of that is a function of the pitchers, that is still a pretty low percentage.

bryce harper is not from the northeast is he? Did Nevada become part of the Northeast?

One of my high schools players called me a couple of days ago and said Bryce Harper was staying in the same hotel as his travel team. I asked him if Bryce was as big as they say? and his reply was
"He's Huge"

you dont have to enter the MLB draft