At nine months apart in age, Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant ran in the same Las Vegas baseball circles as kids and teens, young prodigies with beaming futures.
Harper, of course, took the unconventional path to superstardom. His well-known journey started with him graduating high school early, enrolling at a junior college and becoming the Washington Nationals’ No. 1 overall pick at the ripe old age of 17.
Two years later he made his major league debut, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award and even getting praise on MVP ballots in 2012. The kid who graced the Sports Illustrated cover at age 16 was a full-blown major league superstar.
Bryant started playing with and against Harper at 9 years old, but his route to the major leagues and his own stardom with the Chicago Cubs have been quite different.
The hype has not been, however. Like Harper, Bryant became a household baseball name before he played a major league game, and is so far living up to it.
“When we were younger, we used to call him ‘Silk’ because he was so smooth with everything he did,” Harper told reporters Monday before the Nationals played the Cubs, which was the first time the two Las Vegas products played on the same field since they were kids. “He played third. He played short. He played a little outfield. He pitched, and he always hit very well. He’s a great talent. I’m excited for him. I always cheer for guys that are from my area.”
Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant face off for the 1st time in the majors today. They took very similar paths to the bigs. pic.twitter.com/2GLE6PThrh
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) May 25, 2015
Bryant was baseball’s most anticipated hitting phenom since Harper going into this season. He instantly became one of the game’s top prospects when the Cubs drafted him second overall in 2013. Whether the club would put him on its Opening Day roster, or if they even should, became the hottest baseball debate of this past offseason.
Harper, who has not had much contact with Bryant since becoming a professional, took to social media to toss in his two pennies:
If @KrisBryant_23 doesn't make the big league team out of camp, then that's a joke! I see you doin your thing brotha! #VegasMade #TheTruth
— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) March 14, 2015
The Cubs started Bryant in the minors as expected, eventually calling him up on April 17 and ensuring he would stay under team control through 2021. Once he arrived, he started paying dividends.
Bryant entered Monday hitting .273/.391/.445 with an. 836 OPS, five home runs, 29 RBI and a 131 OPS-plus in 35 games. And in his first professional game against Harper’s team, he quickly showed why he was such a hyped prospect by hitting his sixth homer in the first inning.
“He’s a great player,” Harper told reporters. “I think he needed to be in the big leagues. But I understand the business side of it and what goes on. If I was the Cubs, I would have done the same thing. I want him for another year, too.”
Harper is already in his fourth full major league season, and this year he is completely healthy and quickly becoming one of the best and most feared hitters in the game. He went into Monday’s game leading the league in home runs (16), RBIs (41), walks (39), intentional walks (six), runs scored (39), OBP (.471), slugging (.728), OPS (1.198), OPS-plus (224) and total bases (107).
What we have seen from him through 45 games this season is what so many expected from him at some point in his career. That he is doing it as a 22-year-old should be frightening for every pitching staff in the game except Washington’s.
“His is kind of the unconventional route, but it worked really good for him,” Bryant told reporters Monday. “I'm happy to see that work for him. For me, it was the right thing to go to college and do my thing. It was kinda cool we both ended up in the same spot.”
While Bryant is just a rookie and Harper is a veteran, Bryant is older at 23. He does not have nearly the professional seasoning Harper does, but playing college baseball and demolishing the minor leagues over 181 games indicates he will not need four seasons for us to see how great he can be.
"Bryant is your more laid back type for sure," Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago wrote. "Harper is an in-your-face type and more pugnacious, working his way to the big leagues after starting pro baseball at 18. Both are killers on the field when it comes to the competitive juices flowing."
While Bryant has yet to produce the way Harper is, Bryant is already showing signs that he will be one of MLB’s elite offensive players.
Watching both of them blossom together into two of the game’s megastars will provide plenty of jaw-dropping highlights and numbers for the next decade.
All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired first-hand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.
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