Washington Nationals: Sunday Notes: Bryce Harper, Willy Taveras, Brian Bruney, Drew Storen?

• In a front page article in the Sunday New York Times Sports section by Alan Schwarz entitled, "At 17, Baseball's Next Sure Thing", College of Southern Nevada catcher/outfielder Bryce Harper is described by Mr. Schwarz as being, "...the best power hitting prospect since perhaps Mickey Mantle," and compared favorably to Darryl Strawberry, the no.1 overall pick in 1980, Ken Griffey, Jr., the first pick in '87, Alex Rodriguez, 1993's top pick, and Joe Mauer, the no.1 overall selection from 2001, with the NY Times' writer quoting scouts who say Harper's a, "...tape-measure-testing, laser-throwing, eyeblack-oozing baseball cyborg," is possibly the best prospect of them all, insisting, "... they have seen no player this good this soon."

DC GM Mike Rizzo is quoted in the article as well, and he's still unwilling to commit to selecting Harper with the Nationals' second-straight no.1 overall pick. Mr. Schwarz writes that, "It is not hard to dream about Harper possibly catching for Strasburg in Washington in a few years, the baseball equivalent of a Beethoven-Mozart duet," and the Nats' general manager admits he's considered the possibility:

"'No question it’s interesting to think about,' Rizzo said. 'It would take care of two premium spots right there for us, that’s for sure. But we’re still trying to figure out who we’re taking.'"

The CSN Coyotes and Harper are the 2010 Region XVIII Champions after a 8-2 win over Western Nevada on Saturday. Up next it's the Western District Championship from May 20-22 in Lamar, Colorado, with the first game against Western Nebraska Community College on the 20th, and after that the NJCAA Junior College World Series from May 29-Jun 5 in Grand Junction, Colorado. Two days after the NJCAA WS ends, the 17-year-old Harper will find out which team he and his agent Scott Boras will be posturing against until mid-August....

• In case you somehow missed it last night after the game, the Washington Nationals announced that Mike Morse, who'd completed a rehab stint after recovering from a "left calf injury", had been added to the roster with Nats' outfielder Willy Taveras designated for assignment. Taveras, as Tweets from the Nats' beat writers including the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) reported, "...is unsure if he'll accept or refuse #Nats assignment if he clears waivers." Morse is getting a start right away, filling in for Adam Dunn in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies. 

• Anyone following MLB.com's Bill Ladson's tweets last night? After another rough outing by Brian Bruney, Mr. Ladson (@washingnats) wrote that, "[Nats' Skipper] Jim Riggleman Jim Riggleman said the #Nats are thinking about making a move on RHP Brian Bruney." As of this morning, Mr. Ladson tweeted, "...RHP Brian Bruney is still on the #Nats' roster. No move as of yet." Somewhere in between these two Twitter reports, Mr. Ladson took a moment to note that, "I just learned that #Nats RHP Drew Storen has not been called up to the big leagues -- for now." Apparently there was some Twitter chatter about the fact that Storen was held out of a close Triple-A game, and what that might mean for the future of the Nats' second '09 1st Round pick...It's getting close to June...