SAL1 Lexington Legends

Top Draft Pick Bryce Harper Expected to Play in Lexington April 11-14

Published on March 16, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Lexington Legends News Release


The Lexington Legends will very likely go against a legend in the making in their first home stand of the 2011 season.

Barring a late change of plans by the Washington Nationals, Legends' fans should get a first-hand look at 18-year-old Bryce Harper, whose feats in high school and college have already brought him near-legendary status. Harper, the number one overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft, has been assigned by the Nationals to the Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League. The Suns will play the Legends in a four-game series at Whitaker Bank Ballpark April 11-14.

Harper, a left-handed hitter, stands 6-3 and weighs 225 pounds. He was a catcher in his high school days in Las Vegas and at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), but is playing the outfield as a professional.

Among many Harper highlights:

-He was Baseball America's choice as national high school player of the year - as a sophomore.

-He won the Golden Spikes Award in 2010 as the nation's top amateur player while at CSN, becoming only the second non-division I college player to win the award. (Alex Fernandez of Miami-Dade Community College, who won in 1990, is the other.)

-In one year at CSN, he set a new single-season school record for home runs with 29, mostly using wood bats. The previous record was 12 - with aluminum bats.

-In a junior college regional championship game, he hit four homers and drove in 10 runs. -He participated in the 2009 Power Showcase at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, and though he finished second in the competition, he left a lasting memory by hitting the longest home run in the history of Tropicana Field - a blast off the back wall that was measured at 502 feet.

-At a workout for top prospects in 2008, Harper, receiving throws at home plate during infield drills, suddenly turned toward first base and fired the ball on a line over the right field fence, 340 feet away. Harper signed a five-year contract for $9.9 million with the Nationals in August of 2010. He was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, where major league organizations generally send their best prospects, including some who have already been in the majors. Harper hit .343 in nine AFL games (12 hits in 35 at bats), with three doubles, two triples, one homer, seven runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .629.

"We've had some big-name prospects come through our ballpark, but you would be hard-pressed to identify a bigger name with bigger expectations than Bryce Harper," said Legends General Manager Andy Shea. "The beauty of baseball is that you never know how a guy will project and mature in pro ball. It's fun to say that we truly will see him first!"

For Legends' ticket information, visit www.lexingtonlegends.com or call (859) 422-7859. The Legends, an affiliate of the Houston Astros, open the season Thursday, April 7 at 7:05 p.m. at Whitaker Bank Ballpark against the Charleston RiverDogs, an affiliate of the New York Yankees.

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South Atlantic League Stories from March 16, 2011


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