Bryce Harper

[SZBrewerFan]

Heading over to CSN to watch Bryce Harper in person tonight. A friend of mine went last week and said there were 10-15 scounts in attendance. Does anyone know what the Brewers scout in this area looks like. I know it is hard to tell who is a scout and who isn't unless they are scouting pitchers, so I wanted to see if any of the knowledgable guys on hear knew the scout for the Brewers in Vegas (or on the west coast). Also, for Colby and the rest of the Draft Gurus is there anyone else on Bryce's team that you know of that is a possible prospect for the upcoming draft?

[Mass Haas]

Area Scout (Northern CA & NV)

Justin McCray

 

Perhaps he'll have some Brewer (or affiliate) gear on, good luck.

[battlekow]

I don't know how much of a prospect he is, but the Brewers drafted one of Harper's teammates, Trevor Kirk, in the 47th round last year but didn't sign him. I interviewed him after the draft and we talked about Harper a bit.

[SZBrewerFan]

Back from the game and I meant to take the camera but forgot. I will get to a few more games this year and will try to get some photos. Harper hit a two out 1-0 rocket up the middle in the first inning to drive in a run. He faced LHP Austin Wright who I believe was drafted last year. Harper batted left handed all night long which I found interesting because I thought he was a switch hitter (could be wrong about that). In his second at bat he rolled over a curveball and chop out to first base. He walked on four pitches in his third at bat and then struckout in his fourth appearance. I am no scout, but I personally would be a bit concerned about his timing mechanism. He does this foot plant where he turns his front foot in which seems a bit odd, but I don't know if it will hurt him in the future or not. Behind the plate he looked pretty solid. He blocked a few balls well and seemed to frame pitches pretty well. He's a big kid at 17. Listed at 6'3" 205 and that is legit. You figure he will probably fill out and add 15-20 lbs over the next few years on his frame so I am not sure long run that he will stick at catcher. It's one game so I am not going to speak to whether he was impressive or not, but one does have to remember he is 17 competing against mostly 19-20 year olds and he clearly isn't overmatched.

 

Another name from the CSN squad to keep an eye out for come June is RH Reliever Tyler Hanks. He's a 6'2" 195 right-handed pitcher that can bring it. He was averaging 93-94 on the gun and topped out at 96 (he overthrew the pitch though and it was really high). He has a smooth delivery and the ball really gets on the hitters quickly. He completely overmatched the Chipola hitters in the 2 innings I saw him work.

 

Just a brief recap.....I hope to provide more throughout the season!

[jerichoholicninja]

A lot of people are concerned about his foot movement but there are Major Leagues who do it, one of the Uptons does. I wouldn't worry about it to much. If the guy has the ability to crush the ball something like that can be tweaked and not hurt him.

[colbyjack]

I was out in Las Vegas the past few days to check out the Coyote Slugout. Sorry I didn't announce my plans as it would have been nice to have met a fellow 'netter in Vegas.

 

I took a bunch of pictures and some videos from the event. I spoke with CSN RHP Donn Roach and Chipola CF LeVon Washington, and you'll be able to find those stories in the usual places over the next few days. As good as Harper is, the event over the weekend was absolutely loaded with talent.

 

Tyler Hanks really did light up radar guns, but his FB was as straight as an arrow, and I didn't like how visibly upset he would get on the mound with how the umpiring crew handled the strike zone. The Chipola dugout also yelled out "bush-league" when he barely jogged to first base after fielding an easy come-backer.

 

I'm moving this thread to the draft forum since Harper has more to do with this year's draft then the minor leagues.

[Funketown]

I'm not one for hyping a 18 year old prospect, but he just hit 4 homers and went 6 for 6 to send his team to the Juco WS.

 

http://www.lvrj.com/sport...rld-series-94686519.html

 

However, I did happen to note some of the absurd scores in those games mentioned in the article (of the nature of 25-11). Does anybody know if those JuCo leagues are typically very offensive?

[YoungGeezy]

Hey Colby, a little of topic but what do you think of Bryce's teammate and older brother Bryan Harper as a pitcher? Decent prospect? What kind of stuff?

[colbyjack]

I shared my thoughts on the entire CSN team when I got to see them play in late February here and here.

 

Bryan has some professional potential. He's a tall lefty that misses bats, but tops out in the upper 80s and had a hard time getting his breaking ball over consistently for strikes. He's going to need to tighten up that pitch at the next level, otherwise batters are going to tee off on his fastball. Donn Roach and Tyler Hanks are legit pro prospects that should be selected in the top 2-3 rounds. Joe Robinson should go in the top 5-7 rounds.