Shortly after 6:00 p.m. PT, Washington Nationals top prospect Bryce Harper will make his major league debut at Dodger Stadium against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It’s going to be a big moment. Just in case you didn’t know that already.
It was just a matter of time before Harper got the call to the big leagues this season. The Nats just so happened to get the perfect excuse to call him up when they found out Ryan Zimmerman had to go on the disabled list (again). They had a roster spot to fill. Why not fill it with the top power-hitting prospect in the minor leagues?
Not everyone likes the move, and I can understand that. Harper warmed up in recent games, but he wasn’t exactly tearing things up with Triple-A Syracuse. To boot, he was just so-so at the Double-A level last year. Harper’s numbers at Double- and Triple-A suggest that he’s not quite ready for the big leagues.
And of course, there’s Harper’s attitude to consider. He’s a cocky son of a gun. Jason Reid of the Washington Post will tell you all about that.
This is the bigger concern for a lot of people. Talent-wise, Harper may indeed be ready for the show. But is he ready mentally?
Here’s a better question: Is his arrogance such a bad thing?
No it’s not. It’s true that youngsters like Harper should do their best to keep their egos under control, but you have to consider how his swagger is going to fit on the team he’s joining.
Harper is not being called up to join a collection of stiffs, a la the New York Yankees or the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s being called up to join a Nationals team that is young and talented. And thanks to their hot start, the Nationals are playing with all sorts of swagger right now.
Harper is not a guy who is going to compromise Washington’s swagger. On the contrary, he’s going to augment it.
It’s not like Harper is joining a clubhouse that wants nothing to do with him. Judging from what Zimmerman told the Washington Post, Harper has grown on the guys on the big club:
Bryce, not so much anymore, but at first, had a different way of expressing his confidence. From last spring training to this spring training, I’ve never seen somebody grow up as quickly as he has in one year. The way he carries himself, he thinks [about] things differently now.
The Nats will have even less of a problem with Harper if he comes up and starts hitting right away. His already-inflated ego will only become more inflated as the hits keep coming, but nobody on the Nationals will be in a position to complain. The Nats are one of the worst offensive teams in the majors, so anybody who provides offense on a consistent basis should be treated as a hero.
Keep in mind that Harper doesn’t need to come up and hit .400 with a ton of power to win his teammates over. Washington’s left fielders are hitting a mere .097 on the season. Surely Harper can do better than that, possibly a lot better. Either way, the Nats should take what they can get, and the powers that be in the front office should be happy that the organization’s prize prospect is getting some big-league experience.
The only way this movie is going to result in disaster is if Harper slumps and completely loses his confidence. If he starts moping, the Nats are going to have a problem on their hands. Their once-cocky prospect will have realized his own mortality, perhaps for the first time. He will have lost his swagger.
I’m not willing to bet on that happening. Harper is who he is. He’s always going to have swagger, and right now, he’s joining a team that has as much collective swagger as any team in baseball.
Thus concludes today’s treatise on the word “swagger.”
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