Bryce Harper Enrolls in Junior College, Eyes 2010 Draft

Sixteen-year-old super prospect Bryce Harper enrolled at College of Southern Nevada today, in an attempt to become draft eligible at the age of 17 next season.

Harper is jokingly considered the best thing since Stephen Strasburg, but in reality may be an even bigger prospect. Currently a catcher, Harper has the ability to play just about any position at a Major League level, and the bat to make even a steroid-era slugger blush.

Harper was the cover story for the June 8 issue of Sports Illustrated, with a feature article entitled, “Baseball’s Chosen One”.

The article reveals an array of eye-popping story’s and accolaids that if they weren’t true, would read like a list of Chuck Norris facts.

-Bryce Harper hit a ball 570 feet.

-When Bryce Harper was 12 he played a tournament with 250 ft. fences, he went 12 for 12 with 11 homers and a double.

-Bryce Harper scored six times this season from second base on wild pitches.

-At the age of 16, Bryce Harper has a faster bat speed than Mark McGwire.

-Bryce Harper has a 96 MPH fastball, does volunteer work, and has a 3.5 GPA.

-Harper is as advanced as Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. were as seniors when he is only a sophomore.

The list goes on and on.

Now Harper will go where no one has gone before and test the age limit within the United States for the Amateur Draft. It is his, as well as his ‘advisor’ Scott Boras’ belief, that he will become eligible to play after one year in junior college.

If he becomes eligible it is more than likely that he will land the number one overall pick, which will almost certainly belong to the Washington Nationals for the second consecutive season. This would give the Nationals the distinction of landing the two biggest draft prospects in possibly the history of the draft, over the course of two seasons.

With the prospect the Nationals signing two of these prospects in a row, it may add another dimension to the Steven Strasburg contract negotiations. Boras, Harpers' more-than-likely future agent, will certainly use Strasburg's contract to set the bar for next year’s negotiations with Harper. This could mean back-to-back record breaking bonuses.

While both contracts loom, the possibility of drafting these two players back-to-back more than make up for the potential downside.

As Sports Illustrated said, it’s like drafting LeBron James and Dwight Howard in back-to-back years.