Bryce Harper, the 17-year-old phenom who the Nationals made the first overall pick in the MLB draft this spring, will begin his career with the team on Friday. According to Mark Zuckerman, Harper will join other Nationals prospects at the team's spring training club facility later this week.
The Nationals' top draft pick will report to the club's spring training complex in Viera, Fla., this week and begin working out with Washington's instructional league squad on Friday, the first of several steps toward his eventual arrival in the big leagues.
Harper is still somewhat of a mystery. He played in college, but at a school so small that nobody really got to see him play. At this point, his greatest attribute is his legend. We might not be able to see him on Friday, and I'm sure the Nationals will not be in a hurry to rush to judgement on a few at bats with instructional league players.
We won't know exactly what the Nationals have in Harper quite yet, but this is a very important first step.