‘The Smoking Gun(ner)’
courtesy of ‘Mylar Bono’

Crossposted at Sports Grid

For the second straight year, the Nationals carried the first overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft. Once again, there was an excellent, pro-level prospect sitting there for the taking: Bryce Harper, a kid profiled by Sports Illustrated back almost two years ago about his future. Sure, Jason Heyward was a hyped rookie, but Harper is up there with Ken Griffey, Jr. in terms of expectations.

There’s one other similarity to last year’s hype around a Nationals draftee: Harper has yet to sign on the dotted line, and the deadline for drafted players to sign with their respective teams is tonight at midnight. Given the experience, who better to weigh in on a current first pick holdout than last year’s first pick. Reporters questioned Strasburg on the topic at the presser following his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, and he didn’t try too hard to veil his feelings:

“If he wants to play here, then he is going to play here,” Strasburg said. “He doesn’t need any advice from anybody. You don’t need to convince him otherwise. If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here — bottom line. We want guys who want to play on this team. It’s really important.”

If this is the one statement that gets Harper over the edge and into the clubhouse, Nationals fans could be celebrating like its Strasmas even more often. Who knows: maybe the 2011 Nats might stand a chance.

via TBD

Dave Levy

Dave Levy is a PR guy by day, a media researcher on the side and a self-proclaimed geek. He blogs often about how traditional media adapts – or tries to adapt – to the growing digital media world at State of the Fourth Estate. You can follow Dave on Twitter for various updates about everything from sports from his previous home in Boston to eccentric and obscure pop culture references. Read why Dave loves D.C.