Orange County Register

Sports Illustrated’s cover story this week is on Bryce Harper, a 16-year-old Nevada catcher who, if he were eligible for the draft this year, would quite possibly go second — and only because maybe the best college pitchers in history is a lock to go first.

The article by Tom Verducci is good — the almost prankish sense of hyperbole, the tournament where he went 12 for 12 with 11 home runs, the requisite inclusion if his solid GPA and weekday-morning religion classes — but if you really want to get a sense of the kid, you have to read what Baseball Analysts have been writing about him for the past year or so. And, in particular, this video:

Baseball’s draft has never been like basketball’s or hockey’s, where the certainty of a draft pick made fans wish for the worst record in baseball (and resulting first overall pick). But Stephen Strasburg is just such a talent in this year’s draft, and Bryce Harper will be in 2011. Or, if he and his family (and Scott Boras) get their way, as soon as 2010.

(While you’re at it, read Sports Illustrated’s 1988 piece on Todd Marinovich. I think Harper’s success is as certain as anything in baseball prospecting ever is, but note the similarity in tone. Six years ago, I rented a room for $333/month. Can’t miss Todd Marinovich was my next-door neighbor.)

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