Bryce Harper and the Most Anticipated MLB Debuts Ever

It's been barely two weeks since Bryce Harper made his much-anticipated MLB debut, but it seems as if he's already generated more buzz than some 15-year veterans have in their careers.

Through just 10 games, Harper has already stroked six doubles, stolen home and made a wide array of flashy web gems in all three outfield spots.

It's been a busy two weeks for the 19-year-old, but he'll never be able to escape the hype.

Such is the case when you have a guy who has mashed a 500-plus-foot home run at age 16 and skipped out on a four-year university just be eligible for the draft a few years earlier.

If he keeps performing like this, though, he could eventually exceed it.

Many other players have been hyped before ever playing in a major league game, and here are 25 guys—well, kind of—who made their debuts after much anticipation.

Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. possesses arguably one of the sweetest swings in the history of baseball, and he had that same swing as a prospect in the Seattle Mariners' minor league system.

He was named the U.S. High School Baseball Player of the Year in 1987, and that led to massive amounts of hype coming into the draft.

Griffey's debut came back in 1989—the same year as Omar Vizquel's debut—and he had an immediate impact on the Mariners.

He roped a double off the center field wall on the second pitch he ever saw, and ended up finishing the season with a line of .264/.329/.420 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI.

Some of the anticipation surrounding his debut was so we could all see him play alongside his father, Ken Griffey Sr., but the talent he displayed certainly was the cause of most of it.

Stephen Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg, Harper's teammate, was very similarly hyped up during his journey through the Nationals' farm system.

Considered a once-in-a-generation pitching talent by many, Strasburg lived up to all the hype in his major league debut.

In a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Strasburg lasted seven innings and set the Nationals' team record for strikeouts with 14.

Whew, talk about a debut.

In 12 starts that season, Strasburg posted 92 strikeouts in 68 innings and an ERA of 2.91.

Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson was drafted in 1986 by both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Royals, but he decided to play baseball out of college.

Jackson was a once-in-a-generation athlete, being skilled enough to play both football and baseball, while also running the 60-yard dash in a time that had him considering joining the United States Olympic team.

Naturally, that led to massive amounts of hype.

He hit 22 home runs as a rookie with the Royals and made the All-Star team two years later. He won the game's MVP Award after blasting a 450-foot home run and stealing a base.

Jackson remains the only professional athlete to ever play in an All-Star game in both football and baseball.

Mark Prior

Sammy Sosa described Mark Prior before his debut as "the No. 1 guy who everybody's been waiting for."

That pretty much summed it up, as Prior was once one of the youngest, most talented arms in the game.

He fanned 10 in his major league debut, living up to the large amount of hype that everybody had placed upon him.

He went on to strike out 147 batters in 116.1 innings that season (2002), but unfortunately, arm problems began to derail his once promising career shortly thereafter. 

Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka

Yeah, so I cheated a little bit; I put two guys on one slide.

Spoiler Alert: I do it a few times more before this slideshow ends.

Regardless, both Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka both received immense amounts of hype when they were posted via the Japanese posting system.

Matsuzaka made his Red Sox debut in 2007, going 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA. Although he posted an 18-3 season just one season later, injuries and inconsistencies have prevented him from reaching the potential that everyone thought he had.

Darvish has been compared to Matsuzaka, and then some.

The Rangers spent upward of $100 million—$111.7 million, to be exact—to bring Darvish to Arlington, and he's pitched very well in his rookie season.

So far, he owns a 4-1 record with a 2.54 ERA.

Jason Heyward

The Atlanta Braves are generally very good at producing well-hyped prospects, and Jason Heyward sits atop the list with a couple of other guys I'll get to later on.

Heyward's sweet, natural uppercut swing was put on display in his first game in the league.

He became the 11th player in Braves history to hit a home run in his major league debut, hitting a ball 442 feet in his first at-bat.

That wasn't it for Heyward, though. He singled in the eighth inning to finish the day 2-for-5 with four RBI.

His rookie season in 2010 was solid, as he posted a .277/.393/.456 line with 18 home runs and 72 RBI.

Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle was signed as a shortstop by the Yankees fresh out of high school, and he worked his way very quickly through the Yankee farm system.

He entered the system at 17 years old and needed just over 1,000 at-bats (1,033) before making his major league debut at 19.

Mantle was solid in 96 games as a rookie, putting together a line of .267/.349/.443 with 13 home runs and 65 RBI.

Looking back, it seems as if Mantle exceeded the hype, as he is arguably the greatest switch-hitter in the history of the game.

Aroldis Chapman

It's hard not to hype up a left-hander who can throw upwards of 100 mph.

Aroldis Chapman can do just that, and he showed the nation his blistering fastball in his major league debut.

In August 2010, the 22-year-old Cuban defector was called up from Triple-A Louisville and made his debut the same day. The highlight of his outing was topping out at a whopping 103 mph against the Brewers.

That was actually nothing for Chapman, as he had topped out at 105 mph just the weekend before.

He was solid in his rookie campaign, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.03 ERA. In 13.1 innings, he struck out 19.

Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones

Just keeping up with the Joneses here—sorry, I couldn't resist.

Andruw and Chipper both made names for themselves as young, hyped-up stars on the Braves in the 1990s.

Andruw made his debut in 1996 at just 19 years old. He was the last outfielder to debut in his teens until Justin Upton was called up in 2007.

He played in just 31 games in 1996, blasting five home runs and driving in 13. The highlight of his debut season was a two-home run effort in his first World Series game.

Chipper was different from Andruw in that he didn't make his debut until he was 21.

The former No. 1 overall pick out of high school in Jacksonville, Fla. played in just eight games that season (1993).

He then sat out all of 1994 after tearing his ACL.

He made up for lost time in 1995, his rookie season, pacing all NL rookies in most offensive categories.

His strong line of .265/.353/.450 and 23 home runs with 86 RBI resulted in a second-place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting behind the Dodgers' Hideo Nomo.

Joe Nuxhall

Yeah, so 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall's debut came during World War II (1944) when it was common for younger players to be given a shot—see one-armed Pete Gray and 16-year-old Carl Scheib—but that doesn't mean his debut was not worth noticing.

Nuxhall remains the youngest player to ever play in a major league game, albeit it wasn't exactly a solid performance.

In 0.2 innings, Nuxhall allowed five runs on five walks and two hits. He was pulled after a wild pitch and the game ended up being an 18-0 blowout at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Nuxhall voluntarily retired after just that one appearance, but he played again for 15 more seasons starting in 1952.

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson's debut may have been the most anticipated debut of all time, in any sport.

Expectations were that he would be a pioneer in the game and would start a trend that would change the course of the game forever.

Needless to say, Robinson delivered.

Not only did he begin the trend, but he was an exceptional player as well.

In his rookie season, Robinson hit .297/.383/.427 with 12 home runs, 48 RBI and a league-leading 29 steals. 

Todd Van Poppel

Todd Van Poppel received Nolan Ryan comparisons coming out of high school, so naturally, his debut was much anticipated.

He could never deliver on his potential, though, as his career numbers resemble that of a journeyman fifth starter.

Although he debuted at 19 years old in 1991 by pitching in just one game (that resulted in a 9.64 ERA, by the way), his rookie season didn't come until 1993.

He went 6-6 with a 5.04 ERA in just 84 innings.

Bob Feller

As a 17-year-old fresh out of high school, Bob Feller signed with the Cleveland Indians for, you guessed it, $1 and an autographed ball (via Mike Rosenbaum).

Feller completely bypassed the minor leagues, and he made his debut just a few months after being signed.

Feller's blazing fastball soon made him a household name, and his ability to strike out hitters made him legendary.

He was dominant in his rookie campaign, much as he was over the rest of his Hall of Fame career, posting a 5-3 record and a 3.34 ERA. He struck out 76 batters in 62 innings.

David Price and Matt Moore

David Price and Matt Moore are two of the best lefties to ever come out of the Rays' minor league system.

Price was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt and was named the 2008 Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today.

He made his major league debut in 2008 against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, allowing two runs over 5.1 innings.

He finished up the season with a 1.93 ERA in five games (one start).

Moore was drafted in the eighth round of the same draft, but he worked his way a little slower through the system than Price did.

In the process of working his way up, Moore tossed a no-hitter, compiled a 12-3 record with an ERA of 1.92 split between Double- and Triple-A and was named the J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year.

He impressed as a rookie last season, posting a 2.89 ERA over three games and tossing a shutout against the Rangers in the postseason.

Jim Abbott

Jim Abbott, who was born without a right hand, was the No. 8 overall pick by the California Angels in the 1988 draft.

Much of his hype was created before he was even drafted.

He posted a 26-8 record over the course of three seasons as a Michigan Wolverine, pitched the U.S. National Team to a gold medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and even beat Cuba in the Pan American games.

After being drafted, he skipped the minor leagues entirely and won 12 games as a rookie. Two years later he won 18 games, and two years after that he tossed a no-hitter with the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez was selected No. 1 overall by the Mariners in the 1993 draft after being labeled the nation's top prospect.

He spent just 114 games in the minors before receiving his promotion to the big leagues in 1994.

On July 8 of that year, as an 18-year-old, Rodriguez was the Mariners' starting shortstop.

He played in just 17 games that season, and it was a constant struggle for the 18-year-old. He hit .204/.241/.204 with no home runs and two RBI in 54 at-bats.

That obviously wasn't a precursor to his otherwise legendary career, though.

Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton was Harper before Harper was Harper.

Got that?

Scouts compared Hamilton to the great Mickey Mantle out of high school, which is exactly the reason why he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Rays in 1999.

He was always profiled as an outfielder, but the fact that he could hit 95 mph from the mound had some teams considering taking him late in the first round as a pitcher.

Unfortunately, various off-field issues prevented him from making his debut until 2007 with the Reds. He hit 19 home runs while batting .292 that season.

He has come into his own since going to the Rangers, and it seems as if he is finally capitalizing on all of that potential.

Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui

Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui are the best hitters to ever come over from Japan to play in the majors. Nearly every analyst predicted them to succeed and, wouldn't you know, both of them did.

Ichiro made his MLB debut in 2001, winning the AL MVP and AL Rookie of the Year. He led the league with a .350 batting average, 242 hits and 56 stolen bases.

After seeing the success of Ichiro, the Yankees made play for Matsui, the biggest home run hitter in Japan, in 2003.

In his first season in the league, Matsui played in a league-leading 163 games while driving in 106 runs and smashing 16 home runs.

Matsui would later be a key part of the Yankees' 2009 World Series championship, winning the World Series MVP in his last season with the team.

Darryl Strawberry

The similarities between Harper and Darryl Strawberry are astounding.

Both were considered to have unreal power before making their respective debuts.

Both were 19-year-old rookies.

Both were managed by Davey Johnson.

Both were No. 1 overall picks.

Will Harper win the NL Rookie of the Year Award like Strawberry did in 1983?

We'll just have to wait and see.

If Strawberry's 26 home runs, 74 RBI and 19 steals are the benchmark, then Harper definitely has some work to do.

Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer and Mark Prior will forever be linked, as the Minnesota Twins had a choice in the Rule IV Draft to take either prospect.

In the end, the Twins "copped-out" by taking Mauer over the hard-throwing righty, as they didn't like to label any pitcher as a "top prospect."

It's not like Mauer was a slouch by any stretch of the imagination, though.

Mauer was the USA High School Player of the Year in both football (2000) and baseball (2001), and he had committed to play both sports at Florida State.

He instead went to the Twins, and the rest is history.

He played in 35 games in his debut season, hitting six home runs and driving in 17 while posting a .308 batting average. 

Yoenis Cespedes

A Cuban defector similar to Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Cespedes flashed some serious skills before making the jump from Cuba to the majors.

Scouts labeled him as a potential 20-20 guy before he even signed with the Oakland A's, and they were astonished by his insane athletic ability and raw strength.

His power and arm strength were two other things that the scouts loved watching, as his strength helps him to be able to drive the ball out of the park to any field and gun down runners from anywhere in the outfield.

He's impressed so far as a rookie in 2012, mashing five home runs and compiling 21 RBI in 28 games (106 at-bats).

Dave Winfield

Dave Winfield is arguably the greatest athlete of all time.

When he was a senior at the University of Minnesota in 1973, he was selected in four drafts, in three different professional sports.

The San Diego Padres of MLB, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, the Utah Jazz of the ABA and the Minnesota Vikings (even though Winfield never played a down of football in either high school or college) all selected Winfield in their respective drafts.

He ultimately chose baseball, and it seems like he made the right choice.

In his debut season (1973), Winfield played in 56 games, hitting three home runs and driving in 12.

In 2001, he was inducted into Cooperstown after receiving 84.5 percent of the vote. 

Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes made his major league debut just one day before his 20th birthday as a teenage phenom in 2003, and he most certainly didn't disappoint.

He showed Mets fans why all the hype existed around him in his first major league game, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

His rookie season was outstanding. In just 69 games, Reyes hit .307/.334/.434 with five homers, 32 RBI, 13 steals, four triples and 84 hits.

He's since changed uniforms, but Reyes will always have a special place in the hearts of Mets fans.

Doc Gooden

Dwight "Doc" Gooden made his major league debut at the age of 19 for the Mets. After being drafted No. 5 overall by the team in 1982, he needed a little less than two seasons to make his debut.

His blazing 98 mph fastball generated as much as hype as any Mets pitcher in history, and he saw just about as much success as you can in your first 10 seasons in the league.

He won the NL Rookie of the Year and finished second in the NL Cy Young voting in 1984, posting a 17-9 record with a 2.60 ERA.

That blazing fastball helped him rack up a league-leading 276 strikeouts in 218 innings.

Willie Mays

Willie Mays made his MLB debut with the New York Giants on May 25, 1951 after hitting a ridiculous .477/.524/.799 with eight homers and 35 RBI through just 35 games for Minneapolis of the American Association.

His debut, which came less than three weeks after his 20th birthday, did not really go as planned.

He only had one hit through his first seven games (a home run off of Warren Spahn), but he still went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award with 20 home runs and 68 RBI in 121 games.

Harper can only hope to become as good as Mays, who is easily one of the top 10, if not top five, greatest players in the history of the game.