Signing Amateurs: Time for a Change

After months of stress... no? concern... not that either?  Ok then. 

After months of completely pointless waiting, the Washington Nationals signed Bryce Harper Monday night at the very last second possible, as everyone knew would happen.

What everyone didn't know was for how much and what kind of contract.  Harper will earn $9.9 million over 5 seasons, and $6.25 of that will be a signing bonus.  That makes both the signing bonus and the amount of money less than what Strasburg commanded at this time last year, to no one's surprise.

What surprised me somewhat was that he earned a major-league contract... at 17 years old!  A major league contract immediately puts Harper on the 40-man roster, only to be demoted to the Gulf Coast League and using up an option.  Because he has no MLB experience, Harper will get 4 options on this first contract, so the Nats would be out of them by 2013 if he doesn't make the big club's roster that season.

But you knew all of this information about Harper.  What we really need is to get down to the issue of the draft and sign delay.  MLB is due for a collective bargaining agreement after 2011, which means it'll be time to eliminate the needless 2 month delay between the draft and the signing deadline.  Because of this arbitrary deadline, the Nationals lost 2 months of time where Harper could have been in the GCL developing, making him available that much sooner for the Nats.  And 29 other clubs lost the same opportunity on their top prospects. (Not everyone can have a top-10 pick that signs right after the draft, thanks Drew Storen!)

Instead, Harper will spend time in the GCL, only for the season to end after a few weeks.  So Harper has been out of baseball since the College of Southern Nevada was eliminated from the JUCO World Series in early June.  Harper was obviously going to sign, but he had to wait, because thats what his agent, Scott Boras, rightly advised him to do.  It's time to fix this issue immediately. 

Let kids play baseball; don't make them wait for a random date just so they can continue playing the sport that they love again.  Changing this will help players, clubs, fans, and agents.  There's no reason for this delay between the draft and sign dates.

It's Official: MLB 2010 1st Year Draft Underway

With the first selection of the 2010 the Washington Nationals select OUTFIELDER Bryce Harper. With Strasburg's start tomorrow, Harper immediately becomes the next #1 minor league prospect, if they're able to sign him. Good luck Mr. Rizzo. He's going to demand HUGE money.

There was a lot of speculation that the Nats could really use him somewhere other than catcher for three reasons.

1. Harper's exceptional power
2. Derek Norris is already the Nats prospect behind the plate
3. The Nats are desperate for a power Right Fielder.

More updates to this post throughout the draft over the next 816549874 rounds.

Two Days of Nats Prospects

Today is June 7th. To computer nerds (like me), it is known as the day that Apple hosts its Worldwide Developers Conference where they'll likely release the next iPhone. But for baseball nerds (also like me), it is Day One of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft.

Bryce Harper

At approximately 7:15 pm this evening, Mike Rizzo and company will have to officially say what he's know for a while now. Will they take Bryce Harper 1st overall in 2010? The answer, quite simply, is yes.

Harper has been electric as a 17 year old and many scouts are saying he may be one of the best offensive prospects ever. Harper batted .442 in his 65 games played with an OBP of .524. Every other time he went to bat, he reached base. Absolutely incredible. One concern that the Nats should have about Harper is his attitude and on-field demeanor.

Now infamously, Harper was ejected from a game in the Junior College World Series after drawing a line in the dirt, showing up the home plate ump. It was not a smart protest by the young Harper, with the entire crowd watching his every move. The ump knew this too, and maybe thought he'd make stories for ejecting the latest phenom. And maybe Harper had something to protest about. The pitch looked to be about a mile outside. Literally in the right handed batters box. He should still have been more grown up than that. But then again... he's 17 years old people!

Stephen Strasburg

And tomorrow (June 8, in case you were living under a rock for the last week or so), it will be the Nats current phenom, Stephen Strasburg, making his MLB debut. RHP Craig Stammen was optioned to AAA Syracuse last night after his start against the Reds. Stammen pitched a solid 6 2/3 and only 66 pitches before getting pulled by Riggleman. Strasburg will face Jeff Karstens from Pittsburgh, who has a 4.50 ERA, but has spent most of his short MLB season (called up April 27th) in the bullpen. Talk about two contrasting starters.

Not too much more to say about SS until tomorrow when the start actually finally happens, but Capitol Baseball will be there with great pictures, from the first pitch to the standing ovation walk to the dugout.

Roy Oswalt to the Nats?

This could be a very interesting month or so to be a Washington Nationals fan. In just 6 days on June 8th, Stephen "the Savior" Strasburg will throw his first ever MLB pitch (and Capitol Baseball will be there in our own Section 409 for all the action). This will probably be the first non-Red Sox sell out at Nats park since Opening Day. (If I'm wrong there, someone please correct me.) Just out a few hours ago, this game will be broadcast on MLB Network with Bob Costas and John Smoltz doing some commentary. Those of us in the MASN region will have to watch Bob and Rob on MASN2, due to MLB blackout restrictions.

On the eve of Strasburg's debut, the Nats will have the first pick of the 2010 Amateur Baseball Draft. Bryce Harper, the 17 year old catching superstar, will likely be that pick. Some reports have Harper as one of the best raw power guys in the draft. He obviously has work to do as a mere teenager, but the Nats could use some power behind the plate.

And then there is Roy Oswalt. (I knew I'd get around to a post on this guy soon enough.) After his 3rd inning ejection against the Nats on Memorial Day, Oswalt got to talk to the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore about his no-trade clause. Oswalt cited Stephen Strasburg's rising as a reason to come pitch in DC, saying "They've been playing well. They've got a good offensive club. I saw where they have Strasburg coming up. He should make an immediate impact, especially, because no one's seen him in the league, early. There's always a little adjustment period there." He said he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to pitch for the Nationals. ESPN's Buster Olney added to the speculation this morning, saying about a trade with the Nats, "on paper, this is the best fit for the Astros for a possible deal."

Imagine if you will, in an ideal world, this pitching rotation:

1. Stephen Strasburg
2. Roy Oswalt
3. John Lannan
4. Livan Hernandez
5. A healthy version of: Scott Olsen/Jason Marquis/Chien-Ming Wang

I am trying to stay calm, but the prospects make it difficult. Stay tuned for exciting Natstown news for a few more weeks. If GM Mike Rizzo has shown anything, it's that he knows how to make a deal.

Bryce Harper's Great Game & A Look at Metal Bats

Bryce Harper is the Washington Nationals prospect for the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft next month had one heck of a going away game. He is 17 years old. That’s right folks; he was born in 1992. All gasps aside, the Nats are looking to get the young guy on the team for many reasons, but the main one is his grotesque power. And he proved that in what is mostly likely his final game for the College of Southern Nevada. He hit 4 home runs for 10 RBI. The stat is astounding. But the stat alone begs a new question about metal bats. Should we eliminate them?

Through modern technology, companies can create lighter aluminum bats for faster bat speed, and therefore faster ball speed. Baseballs are optimized to come off of the bat at well more than 90 miles per hour. It is dangerous for everyone involved, but mostly the pitcher, who after his windup and follow through is often less than 55 feet from the plate. In 2003, Brandon Patch was pitching in an American Legion game and was hit directly in the head with a ball off of an aluminum bat. He was dead the same day. This alone should be enough reason to switch to wood bats. One death is too many.

Metal bats also affect player development. In a month’s time, Bryce Harper is not going to have the benefit of swinging a lighter, more responsive bat. He’ll be swinging the same bat as everyone else, putting him at a competitive disadvantage. I’m not saying the kid won’t figure it out, like other major league stars, but it is a learning curve on bat speed and sweet spots. Pitchers are also affected by the metal bats. They pitch to different parts of the plate, and the sweet spot is the entire bat. It’s a real problem all the way around.

Wooden bats have their own risks. Maple bats are known to explode when they’re broken. Shards of wood fire across the field, and too often into the stands. Eventually, a spectator who isn’t paying attention will be killed. Or maybe just one who doesn’t have enough time to react. After studies by the Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Jim Sherwood proved that maple has no performance advantage over ash bats, but ash bats simply crack. They don’t shatter. But even with the risks that maple bats hold, it’s less than those of metal bats.

It is time now for both the NCAA and for Major League Baseball to act to save lives. The NCAA needs to only use ash bats, and high schools and little leagues across the country need to follow suit. Major League Baseball needs to either prohibit maple bats or adjust weight and diameter requirements to be closer. No one should be allowed to have a 34 inch bat that weighs only 30 ounces. It’s a real addition to the problem.

If the NCAA makes these changes, you won’t see many (if any) more 4 home run games from guys like Bryce Harper. Nor will you see as many 25-11 stat lines like CSN had in their win. But we’ll have far fewer stories of people dying after being hit by a ball off of a baseball bat, and that should be the #1 priority.