Q: Last year, you guys finished with the worst record and it was almost a given you'd draft Stephen...

Q: Last year, you guys finished with the worst record and it was almost a given you'd draft Stephen Strasburg. Next year's draft, is it a given that Bryce Harper is your guy?

No. I'm just saying it's not a given. I haven't seen him yet, and he certainly hasn't separated himself like Strasburg did last year.

Q&A With Mike Rizzo, The Washington Post, Chico Harlan, October 5, 2009.

4 months ago Vlad 11 comments 0 recs |

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You figure that’s the kind of thing he’s got to say 9 months before the draft.

Still I’d be pretty happy if he fell to the Pirates.

I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.

by Chester J Lampwick on Oct 5, 2009 7:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

8 months before the draft.

by IAPiratesFan on Oct 5, 2009 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nobody likes a pedant : )

I made most of my life decisions at a Foghat concert... I stand by them.

by Chester J Lampwick on Oct 6, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Even the small chance of Harper falling to the Bucs hinges on how he does in Juco. If he destroys the competition, there will be no chance. I wouldn’t get too attached to him at this point.

The Bucs need to draft a potential star along with Cutch and hopefully Alvarez, whether it is a pitcher like AJ Cole or whoever.

by Adam Reynolds on Oct 5, 2009 8:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rizzo isn't wrong to hold off on judgment for now.

This is why they play the games.

by Vlad on Oct 5, 2009 8:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A lot can happen between now and the draft.

It’s far from a given that Harper will be the #1 pick let alone the #2 pick. Either way, we’re in a nice position to pick up a potential impact player.

by Slick1 on Oct 5, 2009 8:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Anything can happen, but I feel that #2 is almost certain to be a big impact player, no matter who it is. Whatever about Harper, I feel pretty good about having every other amateur in the US available to us.

by JRoth95 on Oct 5, 2009 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Harper could present a problem of a very different order from Strasburg. With Strasburg, it was just a question of coughing up the money. Harper, however, will be 17 years old and Boras will demand a major league deal. It’s not like giving one to Strasburg. It means by the time Harper is 20 he’ll have to be in the majors for good. Even worse, with the signing deadline being August 15, the team that signs him will probably have to use one option just to send him to rookie ball for two weeks, leaving just two years of development. Whatever chance Wily Mo Pena had of a good career was ruined when he signed a major league deal at a similar age. Boras, of course, won’t care about that. Harper’s going to be a much more complicated proposition than Strasburg was.

by WTM on Oct 5, 2009 9:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I know this is an old post…Two questions for WTM on this: First, if a team is strong-armed into signing a major-league deal with Harper, why do you think they’d send him to a 2 weeks of rookie ball if that wastes an option? I would think if a team is giving up a lot to get Harper, they wouldn’t send him to Florida for a few weeks….do you really think they would do it? And second, I’m asking cause I’m clueless to this point…would the Arizona Fall League count as an option? I’m thinking that if it doesn’t, and Harper takes until August 15th to sign, they’d just wait a few months and send him there to get his feet wet.
All this being said…you’re right, Harper could represents a plethora of problems regarding the draft’s future. I think this year in JC will tell a ton about what kind of player he does, since its a decent jump in competition.

by NastyNate82 on Oct 26, 2009 12:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You don't need options for the AFL.

It’s not part of the organized minors, as such.

by Vlad on Oct 26, 2009 9:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So theoretically, if a team drafted Harper and he didn’t sign till 8/15, they would be best served to send him there to start. And then hope to God he progresses as expected so he reaches the majors in 3 years. Sounds like a foolproof plan.

by NastyNate82 on Oct 26, 2009 3:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs