Washington Nationals outfielder
Bryce Harper is only 19 years old, but it's been three years since he played high school baseball and was honored as the
2009 MaxPreps Sophomore Baseball Player of the Year.
Harper made his debut in the Major Leagues last week, going 1-for-3 with a double in a loss to the Dodgers. Harper's debut was one of the more anticipated events of the 2012 season. It wasn't a matter of whether or not Harper would play for the Nationals this year, it was simply a matter of when.
In two years, Bryce Harper amassedhigh school stats that most playerscouldn't reach in four years. The formerMaxPreps All-American is in the big leagues with the Washington Nationals.
Getty Images
Harper's rise to national phenomenon began in 2008 as a freshman in high school when he belted 11 home runs and plated 67 RBIs. He participated in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., that summer and rocketed a triple off the wall in his first at-bat.
Harper followed up a spectacular freshman season at
Las Vegas High with an incredible sophomore campaign in 2009. In earning first team All-American honors, Harper batted .626 with 55 RBIs, 36 stolen bases, 14 home runs, 22 doubles and nine triples. In just two years of high school play as a freshman and sophomore, Harper had 25 home runs and 122 RBIs.
Earlier that summer, Harper was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated and made headlines when he announced his decision to forgo his final two years of high school to attend community college and ultimately put in his name for the Major League Baseball first year player selection.
As a 17-year-old junior college player for the Southern Nevada Coyotes, Harper was spectacular, batting .442 with 22 doubles, a record 29 home runs and 89 RBIs. In June of 2010, the Nationals made Harper the No. 1 pick in the player selection draft.
Since entering the Nationals' minor league system in the spring of 2011, Harper batted .297 in 2011 with 24 doubles, 17 home runs and 58 RBIs in 109 games. In AAA ball this spring in Syracuse, N.Y., Harper was batting .250 with four doubles, one homer and three RBIs in 20 games.
Through his first three games at the professional level, Harper is batting. 222 (2-for-9) with a double and an RBI.
