Bryce Harper Optioned to Triple-A Syracuse by Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals have announced that Bryce Harper, their 19-year-old super prospect, has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to begin the season.

Despite the fact that manager Davey Johnson had been pulling for Harper from the start, the team has made the smart choice to let him get more acclimated to the professional level.

Mike Morse's muscle strain and Mike Cameron's unexpected retirement seemed to have created even more of a need for the slugging lefty, but his .286 (8-for-28) spring training average was not enough to convince the club that he was ready.

Out of his eight spring hits, two were doubles and none were home runs.

Harper started out hot this spring, but recently suffered a four-strikeout game against the Detroit Tigers.

Harper himself was slowed by injury recently, missing five days because of a minor calf strain. The injury was not serious, but it was enough to slow his progression this spring.

Because Harper is being sent down, the Nationals will control his rights for six seasons beginning in 2013. They may be missing out on his production for now, but it will benefit the team in the long run.

Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reports that Harper will be playing center field when he is called up to the big club, contrary to what many around the league believed. Most assumed that Harper would be groomed to play right field so Jayson Werth could shift over to center.

He won't turn 20 until October of this season, so it's likely that he will also be the youngest player in Triple-A. That shouldn't make a difference for the young slugger, as it's likely that he'll likely hit his way up to the big club sometime this summer.

Nationals fans may not be enthused with this move at first, but it will just make his much-awaited debut that much better.