Bryce Harper To Open Season In Triple A (pitching, draft, playoffs)

[Grandstander]

Washington Nationals send Bryce Harper to Triple-A for grooming - ESPN

VIERA, Fla. -- The Washington Nationals optioned 19-year-old outfielder Bryce Harper to Triple-A Syracuse where he can get experience in center field.

Nationals manager Davey Johnson said after the team's 11-7 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday that the timing wasn't right for the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft to make the team out of training camp. When Harper is likely called up later this season he could play center field because the team is thin at that position. He played mostly in right this spring.

"I love everything about him," Johnson told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. "He just needs to go to Class AAA and get a little comfortable there ... He's the real deal. He doesn't need to work on anything. He just needs to get at-bats in Class AAA, so there won't be any naysayers.

"...so there won't be any naysayers." That isn't a real reason for sending a player to Triple A, and if he "doesn't need to work on anything", why does he "need to get at bats in Class AAA?"

When it is transparent BS like that, one assumes that it is just Johnson softening his actual conclusion which is that Harper isn't yet ready for ML play.

Of course Harper is just 19, he still may make it one day.

[Mr Yuk]

This is a smart move, he's just a kid. If the Gnats were looking at another 90+ loss season, maybe then I'd say might as well keep him up, but they could actually contend this year, so some regular playing time in AAA is a good thing.

[filihok]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

This is a smart move, he's just a kid. If the Gnats were looking at another 90+ loss season, maybe then I'd say might as well keep him up, but they could actually contend this year, so some regular playing time in AAA is a good thing.

The opposite makes sense to me.

If the Nationals weren't likely to contend this year, there wouldn't be any reason to have Harper in the majors.

Since the Nationals have a chance at the playoffs they need their best players on the field as much as possible since 1 win might make the difference between playing in October or not.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by filihok

The opposite makes sense to me.

If the Nationals weren't likely to contend this year, there wouldn't be any reason to have Harper in the majors.

Since the Nationals have a chance at the playoffs they need their best players on the field as much as possible since 1 win might make the difference between playing in October or not.

Yeah, but I would think that a season in which the team could contend is no time for experiments....he may not be ready to be a major league starter, he's only 2 years removed from high school (he'd be one year removed from high school if he didn't leave early to get his GED so he could play a year of junior college baseball), and does not even have very many professional at bats. Some guys careers are ruined by being rushed to the majors. Seeing his age, I think starting him off in AA would even be more than reasonable. I know he's a talent, but at 19 years old without even a full season of pro baseball to all of a sudden facing major league pitching in a division with some great pitching, might be rushing him, in my opinion.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by filihok

Since the Nationals have a chance at the playoffs they need their best players on the field as much as possible since 1 win might make the difference between playing in October or not.

Doesn't everyone have a chance to make the playoffs...in March? I'd be willing to give Davey Johnson the benefit of the doubt; I'm sure he knows what he's got--or doesn't have--in Harper at this point in the season.

[Statz2k10]

He's striking out a lot in spring training. Could be against minor league pitching too. I'm sure he'll be up sometime this year. I doubt the Nationals want to keep him down the whole season and only leave 2013 as his last option year to be sent down.

[filihok]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

Yeah, but I would think that a season in which the team could contend is no time for experiments....he may not be ready to be a major league starter, he's only 2 years removed from high school (he'd be one year removed from high school if he didn't leave early to get his GED so he could play a year of junior college baseball), and does not even have very many professional at bats. Some guys careers are ruined by being rushed to the majors. Seeing his age, I think starting him off in AA would even be more than reasonable. I know he's a talent, but at 19 years old without even a full season of pro baseball to all of a sudden facing major league pitching in a division with some great pitching, might be rushing him, in my opinion.

Every season is an experiment.

He may not be ready to be a major league starter? He may be the best center fielder on the Nats roster.

His age has nothing to do with it. His talent and ability to adjust to the majors are all that matters. Neither of us has any idea about those two things.

Originally Posted by Fred314X

Doesn't everyone have a chance to make the playoffs...in March? I'd be willing to give Davey Johnson the benefit of the doubt; I'm sure he knows what he's got--or doesn't have--in Harper at this point in the season.

Sure. The Nationals chance is better than most however. Just as the Yankees chance is much greater than the Astros' chance.

Originally Posted by Statz2k10

He's striking out a lot in spring training. Could be against minor league pitching too. I'm sure he'll be up sometime this year. I doubt the Nationals want to keep him down the whole season and only leave 2013 as his last option year to be sent down.

He K'd 9 times in 17 at bats, which isn't good. But, take any superstar in the major leagues and you can find 17 consecutive poor at bats.

[Statz2k10]

Originally Posted by filihok

Every season is an experiment.

He may not be ready to be a major league starter? He may be the best center fielder on the Nats roster.

His age has nothing to do with it. His talent and ability to adjust to the majors are all that matters. Neither of us has any idea about those two things.



Sure. The Nationals chance is better than most however. Just as the Yankees chance is much greater than the Astros' chance.


He K'd 9 times in 17 at bats, which isn't good. But, take any superstar in the major leagues and you can find 17 consecutive poor at bats.

True, but those super stars have already proved themselves.

[LongtimeBravesFan]

Calling him up at midseason rather than starting the year in the majors delays his free agency season for a year.

[Jimbo Jones]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

Calling him up at midseason rather than starting the year in the majors delays his free agency season for a year.

True, but the same thing could be accomplished by optioning him down for about 2 weeks, then recalling him--that is about the time necessary to go from 1 full year of service time(172 days) to not a full year, giving any player an extra year to reach free agency.

Leaving him in AAA until late June/early July will do the following:
a. Delay the onset of arbitration-eligiblity by a year, which is a good thing, given how young Harper is. This is especially true since the new CBA will make more players eligible for Super Two status if they are called up in May and June(they won't be eligible, of course, until 2+ years after their debut, according to the rules.)
b. Gives Harper a good half season to futher develop. He did struggle in his half season of AA last year, so further time in the minors isn't a horrible thing. This is especially true if Harper is going to play CF for the Nationals for the next few years while he's young(before he needs to move to a corner OF spot as he ages). That might take some adaptation time, really.
c. Gives the Nationals the chance to see what they have in Roger Bernadina--this relates to (b) above, but if Bernadina has any chance to be a regular full-time CF, the Nats may choose to alter their lineup plans and put Harper in a corner OF spot after all, which would neccesitate:
1. Trading Adam LaRoche to a team that needs a 1B, sometime in July.
2. Moving LF Mike Morse to 1B full-time, in the hope that he handle the position.
3. Leave Bernadina in CF and put Harper in LF and Werth in RF.

So, optioning him to AAA is not a bad thing. The only potentially scary thing is that after 2012, Harper has only 1 option year left, as mentioned above. It's a good example of why giving MLB contracts to players signed out of the draft was not such a great idea, and why the new CBA now prohibits it(since an MLB contract requires the player to then be on the 40-man roster, and they are automatically invited to spring training each year--and, if they're not ready, an option has to be used for that year to send them to a minor-league affiliate.)