Bryce Harper Recalled: Are the Nationals the Most Exciting Team in Baseball?

Bryce Harper was a YouTube phenom at sixteen years old, with stories of 600-foot homers that were the stuff of urban legend. 

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he was old enough to vote.

In what should have been his senior year in high school, he won the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur baseball player in the country—an award won in 2009 by Stephen Strasburg.

On Friday, the LeBron James of baseball took the next step in his ascent to stardom—Bryce Harper is a Major Leaguer.

And just like that, the Washington Nationals go from must-see-TV once every five days, based on the scheduled starts of Strasburg, to a daily can't-miss event.

The team is in first place in the National League East.  They have the best team ERA in the Majors, led by the 23-year-old Strasburg; a fireballer who was the most hyped prospect in baseball history for about a year, until America found out the mythical Bryce Harper was, in fact, a real person.

There are plenty of other very good, young players in DC, led by Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimermann.  They have established stars, too, like Rick Ankiel, Adam LaRoche, Brad Lidge and Jayson Werth. With Strasburg, that core may have well been the most exciting young team in the game, and absolutely had the horses to contend in 2012.

Adding Harper into the mix makes this the most exciting, prime-time worthy baseball team in recent memory.

Harper has endured his fair share of struggles at the AAA level this season (.250/.333/.375), but that doesn't change the fact that every one of his at-bats will have millions glued to their television screens, especially if ESPN had the foresight to schedule them for some national games. 

It's not even just about his talent—he is the definition of fivn-tool player; with speed, arm strength, fielding ability, power and the ability to bat for average that makes him so captivating.What separates him in the eyes of America from Mike Trout—the Angels' super-prospect outfielder—is his attitude and bravado.

We have never seen a 19-year-old with this kind of raw ability, that's true.  If he was your regular, everyday, hard-working, humble kid, he would have plenty of fans.  And while he will have his fans, his arrogance and self-assurance will make him as polarizing a baseball player as we've seen since Barry Bonds was shooing away reporters. 

That's what separates him from his teammate Strasburg, too.  While Strasburg is thoroughly dominant, he says all the right things and works his butt off, making him hard not to root for to succeed. 

Guys who are easy to root for, though, aren't as much fun to watch as the guys the world wants to fail.  If you don't believe me, look at the Miami Heat.  Nobody, outside of Heat fans, wants that team to win, but everyone has to watch them.  Tim Duncan has been dominating for years, but LeBron gets all the headlines.

Major League baseball has their LeBron now.  Who knows if Harper will grow up one day soon, and maybe then he will just be another great player in the big leagues.  But today, he is as brash as they come.  And whether you like it or not, you can't wait to see what happens next.