Bryce Harper: Nationals' Phenom Already a Lock for NL Rookie of the Year Award

When the Washington Nationals called up Bryce Harper, there was a mix of excitement and skepticism. After 10 days in the big leagues, the 19-year-old phenom has looked the part of a superstar and is already a lock to collect the National League Rookie of the Year award. 

Before we delve into why Harper is going to be the choice, I must say that yes, it has only been eight games of evaluation and no rookie has had a big enough sample size to tell us anything about what is going to come this year. 

With that out of the way, Harper has the built-in advantage of hype. No prospect has been as covered as Harper. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated the year before he was even eligible for the draft. 

Baseball prospects never get put on the cover of a magazine like Sports Illustrated before they are called up, much less before they are drafted. So Harper is going to be a name that resonates with the Baseball Writers Association of America, regardless of his overall performance. 

Add to that the way Harper has looked right after being called up, and it is going to be impossible for any National League rookie to steal the spotlight from him as the season goes on. The only thing he hasn't done yet is hit a home run, but he is still slugging .500 with five doubles. 

Not only is Harper commanding everyone's attention whether he is hitting or in the field—where he has shown off that cannon he calls a right arm on more than one occasion—but Cole Hamels, one of the best pitchers in baseball, is saying that he intentionally hit him with a pitch because it's "old school baseball."

So what does Harper do after getting hit with a pitch? He takes third on a single from Jayson Werth and then steals home. It was yet another highlight reel moment for a player who seems to provide a new one each day. 

This National League rookie class is not deep right now. Only Cincinnati's Zack Cozart, New York's Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Philadelphia's Freddy Galvis have enough at-bats right now. Obviously Harper will change that in the next couple weeks, and he will have the inside track on the award as soon as he does. 

Even when his numbers come back down to earth—and they will because it has only been eight games—he has built up so much stock in such a short amount of time that it will be a shock to see anyone else win the Rookie of the Year award. 

Even Cozart, who has been the best rookie after one month, is not going to get enough support behind him to take the award from Harper.

Performance on the field is great and should determine the way awards are handed out, but sometimes the hype machine takes over and the BBWAA just can't help itself. Of course, it's entirely possible that Harper will just end up being the best rookie in baseball and deserve the award that he has already locked up. 

For more instant analysis on the great mysteries of the BBWAA and other MLB topics, be sure to check me out on Twitter. 

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