Bryce Harper

The Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper was benched for not running out a ground ball in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 19. The 21-year-old Harper has been criticized for maturity issues in his three years in the majors. Should the Nationals be worried about this latest incident?

It was rough for a while there, but it looks like our long Nationals nightmare may finally be over.

Yes, Bryce Harper looks like he's back.

Bryce Harper never stops working.

We knew that the Washington Nationals outfielder gives 100 percent on the field, but now we see that he is willing to help out whenever possible off the field as well.

A shorter lady needed help getting something off the top shelf at a grocery store, so Harper played the role of the perfect gentleman and helped her out. Luckily, his girlfriend was there to capture the great moment.

Had the first two years of Bryce Harper's career happened in, say, 2010 and 2011, we undoubtedly would have celebrated the young Washington Nationals slugger as the great young player in MLB. 

Allow me to tell you about one thing I'm not sure of and two things I am sure of.

The thing I'm not sure of: whether Bryce Harper will be my pick for the 2014 National League MVP. It's still early for such things.

As for the two things I am sure of:

Through the first two seasons of Bryce Harper's career, he's shown prodigious power at a young age. If his offseason plan comes to fruition, he'll be bigger and stronger than ever in 2014.

Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper is already a pretty big guy at 6'2'' and 230 pounds, but it appears that he just isn't satisfied.

According to Bill Baer from HardballTalk.com, Harper wants to get "as big as a house" before the start of spring training.  

I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'm pretty sure that's going to be hard to do.

The relationship between former Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson and outfielder Bryce Harper was highly scrutinized by the media this past season.

Bryce Harper is already one of MLB's best all-around outfielders, but it often seems that we overlook the uniqueness of his rapid rise.

Remember, the Washington Nationals centerpiece hasn't even turned 21 yet!

The Washington Nationals are infamous for protecting Stephen Strasburg during the 2012 season, setting an innings limit on him.

While they were careful with Strasburg, it seems the opposite is true for their young offensive star, Bryce Harper.