Bryce Harper: Will He Sign with the Washington Nationals?

Bryce Harper was selected by the Washington Nationals with the number one pick in the draft. He's a 6 ft 3 in catcher, but it's possible he'll play in the pros as an outfielder. Much like Stephen Strasburg before him, Bryce Harper is considered a can't miss phenom. And, much like Stephen Strasburg, he has Scott Boras as his agent and the Nationals will have a tough time signing him. Ironically, Strasburg has made a number of public comments saying that if Bryce Harper doesn't want to play for the Nationals, then they don't want him.

Harper has taken a different path than most future major leaguers. He got his high school GED as a sophomore in order to become eligible for the amateur draft, and in order to play for the College of Southern Nevada, which plays in a league with wooden bats. He won the Golden Spikes award in 2010, which goes to the best amateur baseball player and is sponsored by major League Baseball.

Bryce Harper is, by all accounts, the hitting version of Stephen Strasburg. As a 15 year old high school freshman, there is a legend that he hit a ball 570 feet. At age 16, he hit the longest ball ever hit in Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field, home of the major league's Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Even though he's not a pitcher, he's been clocked at 96 mph from the mound. And, best of all, he's a left-handed hitter.

Not everything has been rosy, though. Some people forget that he's still a 17 year old kid. At the Junior College World Series, he was ejected for the second time of the year, getting him a two game suspension, which ended his college career. His team lost the game in which he was ejected, and went on to lose the next game, which Bryce Harper couldn't play in because of the suspension. He had been ejected for arguing balls and strikes. A no-no as a hitter. Word is that this is just an isolated incident, though. He has had high grades, and seems not to have caused any problems with the team or school.

Can the Washington Nationals sign him? Despite their difficulty in signing Stephen Strasburg, they got the job done and now Strasburg will be the Nationals' biggest selling point, along with Ryan Zimmerman. They wouldn't have drafted him if they didn't have the money to pay him, so it will likely come down to whether Bryce Harper wants to play for the Washington Nationals or not.

Stephen Strasburg on Bryce Harper: If he doesn't want to play here, then we don't want him here

Baseball's Lebron

Likely top MLB draft pick Bryce Harper has growing up to do