The Washington Nationals' front office has always maintained one stance when talking about mega prospect Bryce Harper who currently is playing in Single-A ball with the Hagerstown Suns: Harper will move up in the system when he shows he is ready. That time might be nearing very soon, as Harper continues to absolutely shred the pitching being put in front of him in the South Atlantic League.
The 18-year old is currently hitting .396 with a .472 on-base percentage and a .712 slugging percentage. On Wednesday night, Harper went 4-for-5 with five RBIs against the Delmarva Shorebirds. He is also riding a 15-game hit streak and a 19-game on-base streak. He won the South Atlantic League Player of the Week last week. Put it all together, and you have a kid that is just cruising through the League and pasting any ball that is put in front of him.
The next logical step will be a call up, but when and where remains a mystery even to Hagerstown Manager Brian Daubach:
"That hasn't even been discussed with me," Daubach says. "But I'm sure Mike Rizzo (Nationals GM) and Doug Harris (director of player development) have a plan. They've just told us to keep working hard."
Working hard, hitting hard and playing hard has never been much of a problem for Harper, and there isn't any reason to think he won't continue to do so no matter where he lands in the Nationals organization next.