Bryce Harper Recalled: Is This the Most Hyped Call-Up in MLB History?

Bryce Harper officially makes his MLB debut for the Washington Nationals, thus starting what many think will be a long big-league career.

Some say that Harper should have started the season in Washington, while others believe he should still be in Triple-A to gain more experience.

In 20 games with Syracuse, Harper hit .250 with one home run, three RBI and four doubles.

Overall, Harper hasn't been that impressive in the minor leagues, with a .297 average last year, 17 home runs and 58 RBI.

Nevertheless, he's in the big leagues now and is ready to make his much anticipated debut.

But where does he rank when it comes to the most hyped MLB debuts?

Here's a look at the top 10 most hyped debuts in MLB history.

10. Bo Jackson

Before Bo Jackson, no other athlete had succeeded in two professional sports at the same time.

After being the first overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jackson instead went on to play professional baseball with the Kansas City Royals.

He was a star in both sports at Auburn, and many wondered if he could be as successful at the pro level.

By 1989, he was showing his true potential and was voted in as an American League All-Star.

However, injuries he sustained during football cut short his career, as he retired in 1994.

9. Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki had one of the best nine-year stretches in Japanese baseball history.

Then, one year before he was scheduled to hit free agency in the Pacific League, he was allowed to negotiate with MLB teams to play ball in the U.S.

After the Mariners posted $13 million for the right to negotiate with the right-hander, Ichiro signed a three-year $14 million deal and hasn't disappointed.

When he came to the U.S., many believed he would fail, as he was not the prototypical size one thinks an MLB player should possess.

Boy, did he prove them wrong.

Since his debut in 2001, Ichiro has amassed 2,453 hits and is a sure-fire Hall of Famer once he retires.

8. Mark Prior

Mark Prior had some major hype behind him when the Cubs selected him second overall in the 2001 draft.

The previous year, he was named the National Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, and the hype was well warranted.

For a while, he performed very well, living up to the hype.

But 11 different injuries in six years derailed his career, and he is currently out of the league.

7. Pedro Alvarez

When Pedro Alvarez was selected second overall in the 2008 draft, Pirate fans thought they were getting a third baseman that would man the hot corner for the next 10-15 years.

Throughout his minor league career, Alvarez succeeded and was named in the top 10 of MLB prospects.

But I believe he was called up before he was ready, and he has thus struggled in the time he's spent in the big leagues.

Still, he can have a good career if the Pirates put him in the best position to do so.

6. Jason Heyward

As a Braves fan, I can say Jason Heyward was more hyped than Chipper Jones.

Heyward became famous early among Braves fans for his exploits of destroying car windshields at the Braves spring training facility, where he would hit towering home runs out of the stadium.

When he made the Opening Day roster in 2010, he took no time in announcing his presence in MLB with a blast off then Cubs' starter Carlos Zambrano.

Heyward had the five tools we were looking for in an outfielder, and was someone that would help make up for what we thought Jeff Francoeur was missing.

5. Aroldis Chapman

There's nothing like seeing a pitcher throw in the triple digits.

Chapman had a lot of hype after he defected from Cuba in 2009, but I don't think anyone saw him hitting triple digits on a consistent basis when he started playing pro baseball in the U.S.

In his first MLB appearance with the Reds, Chapman threw nine pitches, including one that hit 103 mph on the radar gun.

Now, that's what I call making a grand entrance.

Chapman has also recorded the fastest pitch in MLB history with a fastball at 105.1 mph.

4. Jackie Robinson

Let's face it; Jackie Robinson changed the game of baseball forever.

It was a very controversial move at the time for Brooklyn Dodgers' owner Branch Rickey to sign Robinson.

But when he made his MLB debut, things changed, although many fought it along the way.

The fact that Robinson was the first African-American to play professional baseball since Fleet Walker in 1880 is enough to put him in this list as one of the most hyped players in MLB history.

One has to wonder: what if he didn't succeed?

Would baseball be the same today?

The way Robinson handled everything with such class just goes to show you that he knew he was representing more than himself.

3. Yu Darvish

Prior to this year, Yu Darvish was in the Japanese Pacific League.

But he wanted to play in the major leagues because that's where the best competition is.

Then, he finally got his wish, and the Nippon Ham Fighters posted him this past offseason. This was after he had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA and 1,259 strikeouts in seven seasons.

All throughout spring training, the hype built on Darvish.

Could he hang with the best hitters in the world? Could he do everything in MLB that he did in Japan?

From the looks of things, I'd say the answer is, yes.

2. Bryce Harper

Bryce Harper is second on this list, not because he's not very hyped, but because he has a teammate that had just a little more hype prior to making his MLB debut.

Harper dropped out of high school a few years ago, got his GED and went to junior college.

All of this in an effort to prepare himself to go to the major leagues.

There was no doubt about his talent in high school and college, but he hasn't shown that same pop in the minor leagues.

Still, there's no doubt that he has the talent. Now all we have to do is wait and see if that translates on the field.

I'll be interested to see what he does the rest of the season.

1. Stephen Strasburg

Finally, we come to the No. 1 player on this list.

No other player in big-league history has had more hype than Stephen Strasburg.

There's a reason why every major news outlet covered his first game and the Nationals sold the game out.

Strasburg is that rare talent of a pitcher who has a lot of power and good control.

After 14 strikeouts in seven innings of his MLB debut against the Pirates, National fans knew they had something special.

Now, hopefully he is healed fully from Tommy John surgery and will be back to the pitcher we all thought he was going to be before the injury.