Today the Nationals made their first batch of spring training cuts and somewhat surprisingly 18-year-old Bryce Harper was not among the 11 players reassigned to the team’s minor-league camp.
That won’t impact his status for this year--Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com writes that he “has no realistic shot of making the Opening Day roster"--but it does show that he looks like he belongs in big-league camp and the Nationals’ coaching staff wants to get some more looks at the No. 1 overall pick.
Harper has yet to start a spring training game and struck out twice on just seven total pitches in his debut, but he’s 6-for-14 with three doubles since then and has also gotten some positive reviews for his outfield defense. He’s expected to officially begin his pro career at Single-A.
