Nationals Are Improved, But Phillies Should Still Win

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Washington Nationals (52-69) at Philadelphia Phillies (68-52)
Jason Marquis (0-5, 14.33 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (15-8, 2.24 ERA)

On paper, this is a series that the Phillies should win. After all, they are playing a last place team. The Phillies lead the Wild Card and trail the division by 2.5 games, but the Nationals aren't exactly playing for nothing. Yes, they are in last place, but compared to last year they have greatly improved. Who knows, after inking Bryce Harper to a multi-million dollar deal and having Stephen Strasburg at the top of the rotation, the Nationals could be a few years away from contending. But right now they are still bad. Not quite terrible, but still fairly bad. They are seven wins shy of matching last year's win total, and it's only the middle of August. They want to finish the year strong, and are now in spoiler mode.

Roy Halladay starts for the Phillies, and it's pretty well know what he can do on the hill. He is 6-1 with a 2.43 earned run average in his career against Washington. Halladay's opposition is Jason Marquis, who spent most of the season on the disabled list. He has struggled since returning. It doesn't help that he has a 5.51 ERA in his career against the Phillies.

Draft Recap

Yesterday, the Phillies drafted Jesse Biddle in the first round. Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, and other notable players have been drafted in the first round, however, some star players like Ryan Howard have been drafted in later rounds. Here is a roundup of a busy day in the Phillies draft room:

Jesse Biddle, Germantown, (1st round, 27th overall) - LHP

Biddle has huge upside, great fastball, good curveball, and improving changeup.

Perci Garner, Ball State, (2nd round, 77th overall) - RHP

Cameron Rupp, Texas, (3rd round, 108th overall) - C

Rupp has been praised for his power and strong arm. He is not likely to hit for average, but has strong power potential. He is also solid defensively.

Bryan Morgado, Tennessee (4th round, 141st overall) - LHP

Morgado has been inconsistent. He has an above average fastball, and his slider is developing.

Scott Frazier, Upland HS (5th round- 171st overall)- RHP

Frazier's fastball touches 95 at times. He has a great changeup, and his curveball is improving.

Guantlett Eldemire, Ohio University, (6th round - 201st overall)- CF

Michael Nesseth, Nebraska, (17th round, 531st overall)- RHP

Nesseth was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 15th round in 2009, but he did not sign. He struggled to open the year, and was shut down due to an elbow injury.

In other news, Jamie Moyer's son, Dillon, was drafted in the 22nd round by the Minnesota Twins.

The Pittsburgh Pirates went pitch-crazy. Nine of their first 10 picks were pitchers -- and all of the right handed variety. They did, however, draft a left-handed pitcher in the 13th round, Chris Kirsch, who graduates in my class. Kirsch's fastball touches 90 at times, and has an above average curveball.

And it's not surprising that Bryce Harper was drafted first overall by the Washington Nationals. The kid is a phenom, hitting 500+ foot blasts. Stephen Strasburg is making his major league debut, and Harper isn't too far behind. The 17-year old and Strasburg can make the Nationals a scary team in years to come. Heck, the whole NL East will be scary with Jason Heyward, Strasburg, Harper, Mike Stanton (who also debuts tonight), and Dom Brown.

Phils Sign Players to Minor League Deals

The Phillies signed Shigetoshi Yamakita and Naoyo Okamoto to minor league deals. They each spent 2009 with the Shonan Searex, a minor league team of the Yokohama Bay Stars. Both players are left-handed pitchers.

Yamakita, 32, posted a 2.47 ERA in 27 innings. Okamoto, 26, had a 5.28 ERA in 15.1 innings.

In other minor league signings, the Phillies added veteran outfielder Freddy Guzman. Guzman is currently playing in the Caribbean Series and made highlights when he stole home. The switch-hitter spent most of 2009 in different Triple-A affiliates, however he played in ten games with the New York Yankees, and stole four bases.

Bryce Harper Watch! Bryce Harper went 3-for-15 in his junior college tournament. That's a .200 AVG. Even in a limited number of at-bats, that is struggling, especially for the phenom named Bryce Harper.

He went 0-for-8 in a double header. He has 1 home run. He went 2-for-6 in another game .

Again, it's a small sample size.

They Call Him Baseball's Lebron

They are calling sixteen year old Bryce Harper the Lebron James of baseball. Harper is quitting school to pursue his baseball career.

Harper will attend classes at the College of Southern Nevada over the summer to receive his GED and attend junior college in the fall. If everything stays on schedule, Harper will enter Major League Baseball's 2010 Draft and most likely be selected by the Washington Nationals.

At the age of three, he was playing T-ball against six year olds. At nine, he'd travel all over the country just to play in tournaments for other teams.

For the Las Vegas Wildcats, Harper, a catcher, batted .626 with 14 HR and 55 RBI. He plays the game, and he plays it right. The way Pete Rose played (minus the gambling).

The 6'3", 205-pounder even hit a 570 foot home run. He also hit the longest home run at Tropicana field, a 502 foot blast. Oh yeah, and he was just 15 at the time.

Not only can he hit, but he can clock his fastball at 96 mph. Almost as fast as his bat speed which tops 100 mph. He scored on a wild pitch six times- from second base.

The kid isn't all baseball. His grade point average is 3.5. He also does volunteer work and attends religious classes.

An MLB scout says that if Harper was in the 2009 draft, he would have been one of the top two picks. Says a lot for a sophomore in high school.

A lot of the controversy goes toward the parenting. Shouldn't he finish high school? Did this kid have a childhood? His father was his coach, and Bryce says that he loves the game, and wouldn't trade a piece of his childhood.

As for finishing school, education is important, but this kid has a bright future in front of him. Not every story like this works out, and if it doesn't, he is in trouble. But if it does and Scott Boras his agent, he can soon find himself a millionaire and a star player.

Harper has high expectations for himself. He wants to be in the majors at the age of 18 or 19, wants to be a hall of famer, play in Yankee Stadium, be a Yankee, and be considered one of the best players who ever lived.