Will the Nats draft Bryce Harper? If so, what position does he play?

Bryce Harper has already been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but he can’t even vote yet. I’m willing to bet that Harper is the Nats’ pick, but it’s harder to project success because he’s so young.

As far as position goes, if he can play catcher he can play just about any other position. Jayson Werth, for instance, was drafted as a catcher but made the All-Star Game this year as an outfielder.

Harper’s only going to be 18 on opening day 2011, so I don’t think it’s realistic he competes with Flores for a spot.

I get the impression the options are open down the road. Obviously he can catch, and I think he plays short and third as well. I’d think centerfield is another option given that he’s supposed to be pretty quick and have a strong arm.

The early speculation would certainly say that Harper is considered the top draft prospect for next year at this point. Of course, as of right now, he’s dominated high school pitching and not much else. From what I’ve heard, he has played (outside of his HS team) in a league that uses wooden bats exclusively, so he may have a bit of a head start there. As I understand it, Harper’s going to be playing at a small college (community college, I think) level this year as he’s gotten his GED to allow him to be eligible for the 2010 draft. While I’m sure that the talent level won’t be that much higher, it’ll be a step up that will allow the Nats (and any other team considering drafting him should the Nats go in a different direction) a better chance to project his future value.

I’d have to agree with the above comments. We shouldn’t even consider Harper in relation to Jesus Flores at this point. The fact that Flores hasn’t even hit arbitration means that there’s a realistic chance that Flores is still in DC when (If? There’s no such thing as “can’t miss” particularly when you’re dealing with drafting a 17-year-old) Harper is ready for the big leagues, but I don’t think it’s really a concern at this point. The thing about drafting a high school position player (particularly a catcher) is that there’s about a 95% chance that we’re not going to see him in DC until 2012 at the earliest.

If everything goes according to plan, I would think that the Nats both will (and probably should) draft Bryce Harper next season. Again, though, we’re talking about something that’s eight months away, and a lot can happen in eight months. I will say this. Having spent their past four first round picks (Detwiler/Crow [unsigned]/Strasburg/Storen) on pitching, and with some actual potential coming along in that department (I realize Stras is still kind of wait and see, but…. Stras, Zimmermann in 2011 when he’s healthy, Detwiler is looking like someone who will be able to stick as a middle of the rotation type down the road), I do think that they should probably focus on who they think is the best position player in the draft at #1 overall. At present, that would appear to be Harper.

Harper’s position could depend a lot more on the development of Derek Norris (who I think seems more like a corner infielder long-term, but made strides on both sides of the ball this season) and some of the other young hitters that haven’t reached the majors than Jesus Flores. Everything I hear is that both his current and projected arm strength will play well behind the plate. Rumor has it that he handled his high school staff pretty well, too. I would think that he sticks at catcher early in his career, which is all I’m going to focus on for right now.