NakamuraShowdown: Harper or Strasburg?
With this day and age, more and more teams are focusing their franchise around one or two players. The Marlins have started to focus on Hanley Ramirez. The Rays have committed to Evan Longoria. The Royals have Grienke, the Nationals have Zimmerman, the Mets have Wright and the Phillies have Utley. You can be sure the Cardinals will be trying to lock up Pujols soon. The Twins are already working with Mauer and the Giants will be trying to keep Lincecum. The Red Sox have locked up Pedroia and Lester while the Yankees already have locked up Jeter, Posada and A-Rod for quite a while. But there are two new kids on the block.
Enter: Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. We all know Strasburg. He was the first pick of the 2009 draft and was awarded a record deal to one day pitch for the Washington Nationals. Even before throwing one pitch in professional baseball, Stephen has piled up an impressive resume. With a 13-1 record and a 1.32 ERA in 2009, there seems to be a good player behind the 15.1 million dollars.
Then there's Bryce Harper. At the young age of 16, he has already given something for scouts across the US to like. He has been called the "LeBron James of Baseball". He's not the average high school kid that parties a couple times a week. He doesn't study for his tests the day before. And most of all, he doesn't miss a 95 mph fastball. He has hit a monster 570 foot HR. Yeah, I'd like to see you do that in a video game. He also holds the record for the longest home run in Tropicana field... when he's never put on an official MLB jersey before. This one, measured at 502 feet, hit the back wall of the dome. He hits over .500 and has completed his GED. He will enter the 2010 MLB and will most likely be selected as the 1st overall pick which belongs to... the Washington Nationals. Unless they sign one of the nine Type A free Agents remaining, (Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde, Orlando Hudson, Bengie Molina, Octavio Dotel, Jermaine Dye, Kevin Gregg or Orlando Cabrera), the Nationals, again, will be in position to make a very expensive draft pick.
But the question remains? Who's better? Harper or Strasburg? I have a better questions though.
Who's more valuable? Bryce Harper is. To start off with, he's a catcher/shortstop/third basemen/pitcher. That's the definition of a versatile player. When he signs a professional contract though, it will most likely be to catch. In 2009, only three catchers hit over .300; Joe Mauer, AJ Pierzynski and Victor Martinez. None of them made the hit 30 home runs. This generation's positional advancement has been at second base. With the uprising of Utley, Pedroia, Kinsler and Cano, there's suddenly a whole knew job description for the position. But the catchers haven't changed at all. It remains difficult to find a catcher who can hit consistently above .300. It's even more difficult to find one that can hit above .350. Harper may be able to do it. Mauer hit .365 last year. Guess what over all pick the Twins had when they selected him?
Who's more reliable? Strasburg. He has competed in college baseball and proven himself worthy. Harper has been in high school. Yes, he's playing at the highest possible level someone his age could be playing at. No, even Strasburg can't do some of the things Harper can do do now. But there are always people that break down in a new environment. The was Josh Hamilton, another first overall pick, who fell victim to drugs. His career was on hold until he broke out for the Rangers. The Rays never got to see the star they drafted in the Major Leagues in a home uniform at Tropicana. Just imagine what an outfield consisting of Crawford, Upton and Hamilton could do.
I'm not saying Harper is going to start doing drugs. Heavens, no. But he will start using a wood bat. Harper says he's been practicing with a wood bat for a while so that he'll be ready. Practicing... meaning he has yet to use it against proven pitching. He hasn't caught a pitcher that could pitch at a professional level yet. He hasn't had his 17th birthday yet. The direction of his life seems to be set, but anything can go wrong. An injury. An accident. A "wrong place at the wrong time" moment. Anything can happen.
Who has higher potential? Harper. He has already been compared to some of the greats. Well, so has JD Drew, but that's irrelevant. Harper CAN become the next... well, greatest catcher of all time. And that's being said while Mauer is still playing ball. That's like
saying an infant is the next best bet to become the next best hot dog eater... during a Kobaysahi interview.
Overall, it's a fairly difficult decision. If I needed someone that could make my team a top contender in 3-8 years, Harper is the guy. But if I needed someone to fill in one spot as a pitcher to give me that extra push in October, Strasburg is the guy. But look out. Washington may be on the verge of a big turnaround.
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura and may not be reproduced, recopied, or used in any form without permission from Nakamura
Enter: Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. We all know Strasburg. He was the first pick of the 2009 draft and was awarded a record deal to one day pitch for the Washington Nationals. Even before throwing one pitch in professional baseball, Stephen has piled up an impressive resume. With a 13-1 record and a 1.32 ERA in 2009, there seems to be a good player behind the 15.1 million dollars.
Bryce Harper, possibly the next "LeBron James of Baseball"
Then there's Bryce Harper. At the young age of 16, he has already given something for scouts across the US to like. He has been called the "LeBron James of Baseball". He's not the average high school kid that parties a couple times a week. He doesn't study for his tests the day before. And most of all, he doesn't miss a 95 mph fastball. He has hit a monster 570 foot HR. Yeah, I'd like to see you do that in a video game. He also holds the record for the longest home run in Tropicana field... when he's never put on an official MLB jersey before. This one, measured at 502 feet, hit the back wall of the dome. He hits over .500 and has completed his GED. He will enter the 2010 MLB and will most likely be selected as the 1st overall pick which belongs to... the Washington Nationals. Unless they sign one of the nine Type A free Agents remaining, (Miguel Tejada, Jose Valverde, Orlando Hudson, Bengie Molina, Octavio Dotel, Jermaine Dye, Kevin Gregg or Orlando Cabrera), the Nationals, again, will be in position to make a very expensive draft pick.
But the question remains? Who's better? Harper or Strasburg? I have a better questions though.
Who's more valuable? Bryce Harper is. To start off with, he's a catcher/shortstop/third basemen/pitcher. That's the definition of a versatile player. When he signs a professional contract though, it will most likely be to catch. In 2009, only three catchers hit over .300; Joe Mauer, AJ Pierzynski and Victor Martinez. None of them made the hit 30 home runs. This generation's positional advancement has been at second base. With the uprising of Utley, Pedroia, Kinsler and Cano, there's suddenly a whole knew job description for the position. But the catchers haven't changed at all. It remains difficult to find a catcher who can hit consistently above .300. It's even more difficult to find one that can hit above .350. Harper may be able to do it. Mauer hit .365 last year. Guess what over all pick the Twins had when they selected him?
Who's more reliable? Strasburg. He has competed in college baseball and proven himself worthy. Harper has been in high school. Yes, he's playing at the highest possible level someone his age could be playing at. No, even Strasburg can't do some of the things Harper can do do now. But there are always people that break down in a new environment. The was Josh Hamilton, another first overall pick, who fell victim to drugs. His career was on hold until he broke out for the Rangers. The Rays never got to see the star they drafted in the Major Leagues in a home uniform at Tropicana. Just imagine what an outfield consisting of Crawford, Upton and Hamilton could do.
I'm not saying Harper is going to start doing drugs. Heavens, no. But he will start using a wood bat. Harper says he's been practicing with a wood bat for a while so that he'll be ready. Practicing... meaning he has yet to use it against proven pitching. He hasn't caught a pitcher that could pitch at a professional level yet. He hasn't had his 17th birthday yet. The direction of his life seems to be set, but anything can go wrong. An injury. An accident. A "wrong place at the wrong time" moment. Anything can happen.
Who has higher potential? Harper. He has already been compared to some of the greats. Well, so has JD Drew, but that's irrelevant. Harper CAN become the next... well, greatest catcher of all time. And that's being said while Mauer is still playing ball. That's like
Stephen Strasburg, the most recent 1st overall pick
Overall, it's a fairly difficult decision. If I needed someone that could make my team a top contender in 3-8 years, Harper is the guy. But if I needed someone to fill in one spot as a pitcher to give me that extra push in October, Strasburg is the guy. But look out. Washington may be on the verge of a big turnaround.
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura and may not be reproduced, recopied, or used in any form without permission from Nakamura
