Bryce Harper, catcher and Scott Boras advisee

I think he went 4-4 the other day with 4 HR.

he's probably gonna get moved off of catcher sadly since he'll be on a NL team and can't do the C/DH thing that mauer does to hit every day, and if he's really this good you don't want him on the bench 20 games a season

for all the hype - he better catch *and* pitch.

^ lol

A high schooler that can hit rockets over +500 ft is pretty amazing.

Holy shit, didn't realize that Washington gets to pick him with the first pick.

Strasburg throwing to Harper will be neat.

Just got thrown out of a game. Second ejection this year so he's out of the JUCO World Series and that's probably the end of his JUCO career and the last baseball he'll play till next March/April. Baseball is pretty weird.

The opposing catcher pumped his fist at the ejection!

Good stuff.

Alex I bet the Nationals will have him playing in a fall league.

General consensus among scouts, etc, seems to be that they won't be doing that since he'd be on average 4+ years younger than the competition.

the Nats should trade for A.J. Pierzynski to mentor him.

So who is a bigger dick? Harper or Boras?

http://mopupduty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bryce-harper.jpg

Is this the draft thread? I just posted on ILHoops like an asshole =\

Boras doesn't seem particularly dicky to me. I mean compared to like every sports franchise owner maybe ever, he seems a-ok. Harper on the other hand seems like 17 y/o dude who thinks the sun shines out of his ass.

Who in this bitch looks like a juggalo

tbf that picture kinda makes it looks like the sun is shining from his ass.

What is up with the eye black? I saw it on Harper the other week and thought it was just some like smear issue, and then I saw a couple of women at the College Softball World Series doing it too.

I think it's some pseudo-corpsepaint thing.

war paint.

he is wari0r.

also: he's an outfielder now.

and a Nat.

http://images2.makefive.com/images/200837/945c18c653bca3f6.jpg

"also: he's an outfielder now"

This seems like a smart move. With that kind of power would you really want to lose him for a fifth of your games plus deal with all the nagging injury nonsense that Catchers are prone to?

Taillon evidently still using the glove he got as a t-baller.

Blue Jays have four of the first 41 picks

:D

Is Drew Pomeranz trick-or-treating as Jay Cutler

looks like a crusted over red wine stain (dont pick the scabs bryce)

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/daily-pitch/2010/06/07/draftno1harperx-inset-community.jpg

Pomeranz has Blagojevich hair.

And Harper looks like he belongs in Dethklok.

Ed Wade you are so fucking stupid

why did they do that?! everyone is saying how dumb a move it was.

they 'really wanted him' and ed wade is fucking stupid.

my team has pick #28 so anything the teams before can do to fuck up and let good players fall Im all about..

astros planning on being irrelevant for 10 years not 5 i guess

ok. but why would they "really want him"??

my brother & i are sitting here waiting for chris sale to get drafted -- he hosted my brother on a recruiting trip & he said he's a cool dude

yeah sale is falling hard, keith law seems to think he projects as a reliever not a starter and maybe some teams have bought into that too

the J's message board just went apeshit over the J's passing Sale over.

or maybe he's just asking for huge $

yeah -- i've never seen him pitch

drew pomeranz is giving me visions of andrew miller

thanks for talking about every pick in depth except for the J's, MLB. who cares about the reds. seriously!

DECK MCGUIRE

2K Sports renamed some of these people

there he goes

he's skinny!

they keep mentioning that. like dude can't be fed a few extra sandwiches or something.

ESPN CRAWL JUST SUGGESTED THE ASTROS DRAFT DELINO DESHIELDS JR.

SORRY OTHERS HAVE COMMENTED ON THIS ALREADY BUT THAT IS INSANE I AM OLD AND GOING TO DIE SOMEDAY :C

being an astros fan is shitty. drayton is like a cheap al davis.

cubs draft H. Simpson

everyone at the reporters desk was like 'who'

So are the Nats out on signing Harper or are they the leading contender?

no idea but i always assumed harper would want to play for bigger crowds in a bigger media market

But he's hitting .214, so that's all speculation.

― clemenza, Monday, July 16, 2018 3:46 PM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That's what, 5 hits tho?

Not stanning really but *shrug*

12 hits right now--in 550 AB, it'd be 20. But if you want to approach the question from that angle, that a few hits don't matter much, then surely those few hits aren't going to move him from a 0.0 WAR to one of the 10 most valuable players in the NL.

I'm not sure if you're saying that he is or isn't overrated.

there are only so many teams that have or would spend the kind of money he wants. the yankees seem to have a pretty full outfield? they could put him at first, but greg bird is *also* hitting .214 this year, and at 1/40th of the cost. the red sox signed jd martinez last winter and have mookie eligible for arbitration this winter. (mookie, btw, is nine days older than harper and is 4.5 bWAR up on him in two fewer seasons.)

the cubs and giants already have $140m on the books for 2019, which doesn't count raises for people like baez and bryant. the dodgers could afford him, but seem relatively unlikely to offer a historic contract for a guy as inconsistent as harper has been.

maybe the phillies? except i'd expect the phillies to be more interested in machado, as should, perhaps, most teams

The outside club I was thinking is maybe the Rangers. They have dropped some cash on some hitters over the years.

I'm not sure if you're saying that he is or isn't overrated.

― clemenza, Monday, July 16, 2018 7:08 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wasn’t really saying either. I think his BABIP is really weird this year. I find him fascinating tho also lol this HR derby he’s such a choad

He's 25. Most guys are enter their prime now. Maybe he's a year late.

If I had to bet on 2015 or this year being the more anomalous, I'd definitely bet on this year. The list of position players besides Harper who've put up 10-WAR seasons since the war: Yastrzemski, Bonds, Ripken, Mantle, Mays, Musial, Morgan, Williams, Yount, Boudreau, Banks, Trout, A-Rod, Sosa, Rosen, Petrocelli. That's a pretty formidable list. I think at worst he'll have a better career than the last two guys, and they were good. My guess would be that he exceeds his current career slash line (.277/.384/.510) for the next several seasons. But again, I don't know who else you'd name as the most overrated player right now (or even based cumulatively on the last three seasons).

But again, I don't know who else you'd name as the most overrated player right now (or even based cumulatively on the last three seasons).

The DH for the Angels has made $24M/yr over the past 3 years while putting up a cumulative -1.1 WAR, and has batted exclusively in the 3rd/4th/5th spot in the lineup.

Pujols crossed my mind, but is there anyone who still rates him highly (except, I guess, the manager who continues to bat him 3rd/4th/5th)? I don't see overpaid and overrated as the same thing.

He was overrated by the Angels GM during the 2011 offseason

For a while I think Strasburg was a bit overrated, back when he still had some of that residual legendary buzz from his pre-injury days but was merely very good instead of elite.

But now I think he might actually be a bit underrated!

Probably a few such pieces out there at the moment:

http://www.billjamesonline.com/should_the_nationals_trade_bryce_harper/

Be forewarned: intangibles are discussed.

oh *bill*

Not BJ, Dave Fleming.

Homered in the first game today, .293/.419/.573 over the last 30 days. Doesn't suck.

that -3.3 dWAR on bWAR for 2018 is something else. wonder how legit that rating is; i wouldn't be surprised if he's not particularly good out there but that number is shockingly bad.

I know eye test doesn’t mean much but what I saw from him, this season, was just very bad.

mlbtraderumors predicts 14 years, $420M for harper

(13 years, $390M for Machado, for the same $30M AAV)

Will also be on the cover of the show 19

insane

what was wrong with his defense? Ben Lindbergh:

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/11/20/18104199/bryce-harper-free-agency-defense

some of those misplays are brutal

move him back to C! make the thread title relevant again!

getting easier to hate

https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/03/26/bryce-harper-is-pandering-hard-to-philly-fans/

If he ever has a bad season they’re going to boo the fuck out of him

they booed Mike Schmidt in good seasons!

i'm sure that's true, but i think the fact that he *chose* them will go a long way

Bryce got a tad upset with the strike calls tonight

you can buy Bryce's pomade

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/7FD8ED49-CB2F-4406-A326-54374A7DE0F8/

Bryce takes Hunter Strickland deep again. pic.twitter.com/hOFRO31tPi

— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) September 25, 2019

Dan Shulman, on a Toronto call-in this morning, called Harper a really, really talented player who ranks about #15-20 across both leagues. Sounds about right. (Except in April, when he leaps to the front of the class.)

WAR: it adds up over time. Harper was looking pretty poor earlier this year, but his second half has bailed him out somewhat overall, even if this is a bit of an off season by expectations.

#15-20 is a little optimistic

Seeing as there are as many as eight Astros/Red Sox players who'd rank ahead of him--Altuve, Bregman, Betts, and Bogarts for sure; Springer and Correa probably; Devers and Alvarez maybe; I'd add Martinez, too, if not for the age difference--you're probably right.

Yelich has more or less the same WAR as Harper with 500 less PA.

Speaking of Fred Lynn (I was, the other day, on the Juan Soto thread)...Is Harper Fred Lynn? Harper had a three-year jump age-wise, but through nine seasons, they're pretty close:

BH: 138 OPS+, 33.4 WAR
FL: 137 OPS+, 36.9 WAR

Two monster seasons each, although Harper's 2017 was injury-shortened; ROY both, one MVP each. (Lynn should have won a second in '79, an infamously terrible vote.)

i miss morbs. he would have bumped this thread several times by now. he's right there in the NL MVP race, and would seem to be the favorite if PHI can squeak into the playoffs. (i think if the padres make it, it's Tatis? if the reds make it...not sure)

(preamble about how harper often seems to be seen as a disappointment compared to his early promise)

his career line is now .278/.389/.520, a wRC+ of 141, wOPA of .384.
42 fWAR, 38.4 bWAR at age 28

pretty solid!

I used to be so down on Bryce but I was wrong

Definitely an MVP candidate...not sure I'd assume his career inconsistency is over, though. (His career numbers will likely remain in proximity to HOF-level because of how good his good years are.)

he has a good case but man what a depressing NL MVP race it's been, you've got prime acuna and tatis and soto and degrom and mookie and the league leader might not surpass 6 fWAR

well i guess corbin burnes and zack wheeler surpassed it already tbf

neither of them seem like candidates though

not sure I'd assume his career inconsistency is over, though.

this is what i mean, though - he hasn't been very inconsistent! i think that's his reputation. but look at his numbers:

https://i.imgur.com/Eg7Yf8K.png

his 2014 is his second worst, as a hitter. but he was 21 years old, and seriously injured for maybe the first time (?) in his career? and even then, he puts up a 115 wRC+, as a 21 year old, only looking bad in comparison to his own first couple years.

then his MVP 2015, which i think had the effect of resetting the expectation of him as a perennial mike trout superstar.

then his worst year, offensively, 2016. wRC+ of 111 -- 11% better than an average hitter -- dropping from .330 BA to .243 (BAPIB dropped from .369 to .264) looked bad, but his OBP was still .373!

and that's about it. those are his relatively bad seasons. his next worst hitting season is when he was 19 (wRC+ 121), and after that is 2019 (wRC+ 125), his first year in Philadelphia.

he's a pretty good lock for 4+ fWAR each year, and with upside for years like 2015 and 2021 as well. seems pretty consistent!

I think we're just looking at it from a different angle. then his MVP 2015, which i think had the effect of resetting the expectation of him as a perennial mike trout superstar--unfair as it may be, that's mine. If he were to stay where he is right now for a couple more seasons, I'd likely stop thinking that way. I still see Fred Lynn as a good comparison. Lynn also had a very good age-28 season--not as good as Harper this year, but he did get some MVP support. Another comparison (see above), this time Harper today vs. Lynn through his age-28 season:

Harper: .278/.389/.520, 141 OPS+, 38.4 WAR
Lynn: .308/.383/.520, 141 OPS+, 32.1 WAR

That's pretty damn close (Harper had a three-year head start on WAR). Lynn followed up with a disastrous strike-year season (injury? don't remember), then was never the same after that. So we'll see.

i guess i just mean, 10 years, 42 WAR for harper. he already proved himself

Good column:

https://open.substack.com/pub/joeposnanski/p/the-yankees-bryce-harper-and-what?r=1jtu0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

(xposts) A year later--and assuming Harper continues playing this well--the Lynn comparison is moot.