Bleacher Report - Bryce Harper

3 Biggest Surprises So Far for the Washington Nationals This Season

Katie Gregerson — Fri, 24 May 2013 07:56:32 -0400

Going into the 2013 MLB season, it seemed everyone was picking the Washington Nationals to win the World Series—and for good reason.

Their starting rotation is stacked, their lineup is challenging, their bullpen has been beefed up and with names like Gio Gonzalez, Bryce Harper, Adam LaRoche and Rafael Soriano, the Nats are poised for a repeat—and then some—of their 2012 marquee season.

However, nearly two months in, it's safe to say that the Nationals have yet to hit their stride.

Thanks to a number of early-season injuries, manager Davey Johnson has been forced to place a different lineup on the field every week. So far, the Nationals' performance has been rather unpredictable from game to game.

While they sometimes play like the reigning NL East champions, at other times they play like, well, something else.

Following are the three biggest surprises—both good and bad—for the Washington Nationals so far this season.

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2013 MLB Player Prop Bets Odds: Regular Season Home Run Title

Kevin Stott — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:45:38 -0400

With the 2013 Major League Baseball season in full swing, now is the perfect time to take a look at the current odds for the home run title from the LVH SuperBook here in sunny Sin City.

Let's take a look in order of the odds favorites of some of the top players and examine the potential value of a futures bet, with the fresh odds from May 23 and current home run totals from that same date.

Here we go.

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Mike Trout and Bryce Harper Are Baseball's Newest Generation of Young Superstars

Brandon Mauk — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:15:50 -0400

Throughout the history of sports, there comes the appearance of a generation of superstars whom along with their clubs, rival each other in terms of team superiority, statistical races and awards chases.

In the NBA, you had Russell vs. Chamberlain in the 1960s, Bird vs. Magic in the 1980s, Jordan vs. everyone else in the 1990s, Kobe and Shaq vs. Duncan and Robinson in the late-'90s and early 21st century and now we have LeBron vs. Carmelo vs. Durant.

In other sports, you have all-time great rivalries like Nicklaus and Palmer, Tiger and Mickelson, Sampras and Agassi, Ali and Frazier and Nadal and Federer.

For its part, baseball has some of the most classic rivalries in the history of sport—rivalries that reflected their respective times.

In the pre-WWI dead-ball era, the two greatest players were Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner, and they faced off in the 1909 World Series, with Wagner's Pirates defeating Cobb's Tigers.

In the 1930s and 1940s, a time when America was trying to recover from the Great Depression and WWII, the legendary Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was highlighted by the performances of the Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, and Boston's Ted Williams. Williams may have been the better overall hitter, but Joltin' Joe's Bronx Bombers consistently won it all, and DiMaggio won three MVPs to Williams' two (though voter bias played a role)

Much like the rest of the world did in the 1950s, major league baseball of that era centered around New York City. The Yankees of the Bronx, the Giants of Manhattan and the Dodgers of Brooklyn were at their peak.

Fans of the New York teams looked up to the franchise's three great Hall of Fame center fielders: "The Commerce Comet", Mickey Mantle, "The Say Hey Kid", Willie Mays, and "The Silver Fox", Duke Snider. Snider's Dodgers and Mays' Giants clashed almost annually for National League supremacy, and the Dodgers and the Yankees (led by Mantle) met in the World Series four times in a five-year stretch during the decade.

The chaos of the 1970s was reflected in the magnitude of baseball's biggest events, and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry became more intense than ever, centering around two clashing catchers, Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk, while also being driven by the in-house fighting of Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner.

In the late 1990s and early 21st century, the position of shortstop took center stage in baseball as Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra and Alex Rodriguez became the central figures of their franchises. While the AL was competitive, Jeter's Yankees dominated—though A-Rod and Nomar put up the numbers and took home hardware for their individual exploits.

Today, there is a clash between the game's newest young superstars: Washington's Bryce Harper and the Angels Mike Trout, both Rookie of the Year award winners in their respective leagues last year.

It seems as if Harper and Trout were destined to be rivals. Harper was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old in Nevada. He idolized and based his game around another Midwestern kid who broke into the big leagues at 19: The Mick. But his cockiness and "I'm better than you" attitude resembles Alex Rodriguez.

The same year Harper was touted as baseball's answer to LeBron James, Trout was a sleeper pick in the late first round out of high school in southern New Jersey. Although growing up a fan of the Phillies, he idolized another legend on East 161st St. and River Ave, Derek Jeter, and seems to pattern his game after Jeter's balanced approach—speed, patience, contact, defense, power...everything. His calmness and humility seems to be inspired by his pinstriped idol.

Both young stars have already made their presence felt in the world of major league baseball.

On his way to winning NL ROY, Harper became the first teen since Ken Griffey, Jr. to mash 20 HRs in a season. He led the Nationals to their first playoff appearance since they were the Montreal Expos. A few weeks in to the 2013 season, his game has only improved: 12 HRs in 139 ABs and a whopping .995 OPS. He can't even drink alcohol yet—not that he would want to, famously.

Trout was just a bit better than Harper last year, finishing as the unanimous AL ROY and the MVP runner-up to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera in a hotly contested race. He's certainly not suffering a sophomore slump either, posting just under a .300 batting average with a .944 OPS.

On Tuesday, he became the youngest American Leaguer ever to hit for the cycle—21 years and 288 days. Even at Trout's tender age, it may not be too soon to call him the greatest overall player in the game today.

And he'll only get better.

Although the two players will likely not meet until a potential World Series matchup or next year in interleague play, these two new faces of major league baseball seem to be throwbacks to a time before the era of steroids.

Both players, at their peak, could be dominant in every single aspect of the game. Both are very good outfielders; they can average .300-plus; they have plenty of speed (although Trout may be faster); they have excellent throwing arms, and they can crush the ball (although Harper may have even more power). Don't be surprised if one or both accumulates a 40-40 season, a batting title, a 50 HR season, a couple of MVPs and championships by the time both wrap up their careers.

They are both that good. And they are this generation's answer to the individual rivalries that have helped define greatness in major league baseball.

Read more Bryce Harper news on BleacherReport.com

Bryce Harper Is Not the Person to Blame for Washington Nationals' Woes

Maxwell Ogden — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:26:26 -0400

Entering the 2013 MLB season, perhaps no team garnered as much hype as the Washington Nationals. With a star-studded pitching staff, a deep bullpen and a pair of star hitters, Washington was a favorite to reach the World Series.

With the Nationals in the midst of a major slump, it's imperative that we don't let Bryce Harper take the downfall. He is not the one to blame.

The Nationals are currently 23-23, thus resting a full 5.0 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East. As expected, tensions have been high as Washington continues to struggle, and blame is being placed wherever possible.

After a 4-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on May 21, closer Rafael Soriano questioned Harper's defensive positioning—Harper agreed (via USA TODAY Sports).

"It may not have been a catchable ball, but if we were positioned the right way, there might have been a different outcome. With two outs, I could tell my 4-year-old son, 'You know where you need to play,' and he would have positioned himself better. It's not an excuse, and I'm not speaking badly about anybody, but I think that's how you play the game.''

"Absolutely,'' said Harper, insisting he should have made the catch. "Of course it crosses your mind after you jam into a wall, and it doesn't really feel very good. It sucks not making the play. I totally put that loss on me.''

As mature of a statement as that may be for the 20-year-old right fielder to make, this is about more than one man.

The Nationals may look to one area as a turning point in a specific game, but this has been your quintessential snowball effect. As one player makes a mistake, so too does his teammate and thus the Nationals are in their present predicament.

With that being said, Harper is the last individual we should be targeting for his occasional blunder.

Where Are the Bats?

Thus far in 2013, Bryce Harper is hitting .285/.381/.606 with 12 home runs, 23 RBI and 27 runs scored. Those numbers may be impressive, but Harper's RBI total is both concerning and telling of Washington's greatest issue.

Despite hitting .318 with runners in scoring position, thus driving in 13 runs in 22 opportunities, Harper is on pace for just 79 RBI—and that's on his teammates.

The Nationals currently rank 28th in runs scored and slugging percentage, as well as 29th in batting average and on base percentage. Harper and Ryan Zimmerman are their only two players hitting above .280. Adam Laroche, hitting .219, is second on the team in home runs and third in RBI.

When one of your top power sources can hardly hit the ball, your entire lineup is in trouble.

Until the Nationals start getting on base, nothing Harper and Zimmerman do will be enough to win games. Their contact hitters are disappearing for games on hand, while their power ballers are becoming virtual non-factors.

An unfortunate truth for a team with quite the marvelous pitching staff.

Pitching Imbalance

On the surface, the Washington Nationals appear to have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. Jordan Zimmerman has an ERA of 1.62, Stephen Strasburg has an ERA of 2.66 and Rafael Soriano has 12 saves.

Just don't let appearances be so deceiving.

Strasburg's ERA has been marred by a lack of run support, and he thus rests at 2-5 on the season. Gio Gonzalez is 3-2, but he's also posting an ERA of 4.01, while Dan Haren is 4-5 with an ERA of 5.54.

Even Ross Detwiler is 2-4 with an ERA of 2.76.

As for the bullpen, Soriano's 12 saves are met with three blown opportunities and reliever Drew Storen has an ERA of 4.67. A lack of run support is of partial blame, but there's something to be said for the pitching staff, as well.

Even when you can't prevent the other team from scoring, looking to your batters isn't a route worth pursuing.

Washington is in complete disarray, and placing the blame on Harper is simply for those in need of a scape goat. This is not to label Harper as the impeccable athlete, but instead to acknowledge the facts.

Everyone in Washington needs to step up and take the blame collectively.

Read more Bryce Harper news on BleacherReport.com

2013 MLB Draft: Projecting Washington Nationals' Top 5 Needs

Michael Nargi — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:33:57 -0400

The Washington Nationals have had tremendous results in their drafts in years past, especially since drafting Ryan Zimmerman in 2005.

They have laid the foundation for a winning ballclub with top picks that include not only Zimmerman, but Ross Detwiler in 2007, Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen in 2009, Bryce Harper in 2010 and Anthony Rendon in 2011.

With great depth in the minor leagues and top picks ready to break out for the Nats, where are their 2013 top draft needs?

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