Nationals take phenom Bryce Harper in draft

Suddenly, the future for Washington D.C. baseball looks awfully promising.

A year after taking pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick, the Nationals took catcher Bryce Harper with the top selection during Monday’s MLB draft.

Harper doesn’t even turn 18 until October, but he hit .417 with 21 dingers in 51 games at a junior college last season. While his natural position is catcher, the club actually announced him as an outfielder when they selected him. Catchers usually take longer to get to the big leagues because they have to learn how to handle a major league pitching staff. But if Harper can play the outfield, he’ll likely spend less time in the minors.

While it’s important not to expect too much too soon out of them, if both Strasburg and Harper live up to their potential, the Nationals have two pieces in which they can build their franchise around for years to come. If nothing else, this will be an exciting team to watch over the next couple of seasons with the amount of young talent they’ll have coming up through the minors.

Here are some YouTube highlights of Harper:

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