Bryce Harper - an unbelievable talent with extraordinary expectations

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

Next to Stephen Strasburg, the #1 pick of the Washington Nationals in the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft, the most recognizable name in amateur baseball right now is most likely Bryce Harper. The incredible thing is that Bryce is only 16 years old and just completed his sophomore year in high school this past June.

The legend of Bryce Harper began to grow in the amateur baseball community before Bryce ever competed in a high school baseball game. Back in February 2008, Baseball Factory held an Under Armour National Tryout in Las Vegas. Bryce was a participant in the event and the video of his performance can be seen by clicking on this link: http://baseballfactory.com/video/?vid=1097

I distinctly remember the reaction of Jim Gemler and Justin Roswell, two of Baseball Factory’s senior directors, after they got a chance to see Bryce perform at the Under Armour Tryout in Las Vegas. When they returned from Las Vegas, they insisted that our staff watch the video of his performance, because they felt that he could be the best player in the country and he was only a freshman. That type of recognition for a freshman is just unheard of in the amateur baseball industry. Bryce continued to impress throughout his freshman and sophomore years, as he put up mystical performances at different showcase and tournament events throughout the country. His strong sophomore year led our staff to select him as the #1 HS Prospect in the country for the Baseball Factory Top 100 this year. This is just an incredible feat for a sophomore.

As many people reading this blog saw earlier this spring in Sports Illustrated, Tom Verducci wrote a feature story about Bryce and his picture was featured on the cover. Sports Illustrated called him “The Chosen One” and compared him to baseball’s version of LeBron James.

A few weeks later, SI reported that Bryce would take the G.E.D and forgo his junior and senior years of high school to enroll in the College of Southern Nevada, a strong Junior College baseball program, this month. This will help accelerate his baseball development and potentially make him eligible for the 2010 draft where many baseball experts feel he is a lock to be the #1 overall pick.

The decision to accelerate Bryce’s adolescence and forgo the rest of high school is one that many parents are debating across the country. Many people believe that this is the right move, including Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. I tend to disagree. If it were my son, I think I would keep him in high school. If Bryce walked every single at bat of his junior and senior year he would almost assuredly be the 1st pick of the MLB First Year Player Draft in 2011. What happens if he struggles against the older players in junior college? What if the pressure of being on the cover of SI and being considered the Chosen One becomes too much to bear? Is the potential reward of being the 2010 #1 Draft Pick enough to outweigh the near sure thing of being the 2011 #1 Draft Pick? To me there is more potential downside in accelerating the process this much, not to mention the social and emotional risks of putting a 16 year old in college.

I was speaking to a very high profile individual in the professional baseball community this summer and he said that he felt a little bad for Bryce based on the monumental amount of hype he has received. Can he ever live up to the expectations that have now been placed on him? Is it really fair to do that to a 16 year old that has never played in a professional baseball game? I have not met Bryce personally, but from hearing our staff that got a chance to work with him, he sounds like a terrific young man. I wish him the best of luck and hope that he can live up to the enormous expectations that have now been placed on his shoulders.


Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 14 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.