Harper vs. Heyward
Biking for Baseball’s next stop this season is Turner Field for a weekend series between the two best teams in NL East. The Braves begin today only 3.5 games out of first place before the final game of a home series against the surging DBacks, while the Nationals finish their series with the Rockies in Colorado this today.
A lot of storylines stick out from the Nationals-Braves upcoming tilt. The young homegrown Nationals are trying to become the Braves of the 1990’s, and the Braves are trying to win one for the Chipper.
For me, the most intriguing storyline is a battle of 2 highly touted lefty hitting outfielders. Both first round draft picks made their MLB debut at a very young age and are seen as cornerstones for the future of their organizations. Bryce Harper of the Nationals and Jason Heyward of the Braves are not only the future of their teams, but they are the future of baseball.
Heyward made his MLB debut in 2010 at the age of 20. Harper’s first year as a big leaguer is this season as a 19 year old. Each player had his share of hype before even playing a game, but Harper had a more LeBron-esque type hype. He was featured on the cover of SI with the headline “Chosen One.” Pretty ridiculous that a 16 year old was being compared to A-Rod and Junior, but well, Harper is pretty ridiculous.
Heyward was no slouch his rookie year, coming in a close second in NL Rookie of the Year to Buster Posey. In 142 games that season, Heyward hit 18 home runs, 72 RBI, 83 runs scored, .277 batting average, .456 slugging percentage, a 131 OPS+ while racking up 6.3 WAR. Very good numbers for a 20 year old. Heyward hit the dreaded sophomore slump last season, but this season his numbers are in line to equal or surpass his rookie season. Simply put, Heyward is a stud.
Harper is having a solid rookie season so far, and when calculated out over the same amount of games Heyward played, the numbers are eerily similar. At his current pace, playing 142 games, Harper would hit 19 home runs, 56 RBI, 89 runs scored, .280 batting average, .487 slugging percentage, and a 129 OPS+.
Both players are powerful lefties who are just starting solid careers. Their rookie years are very similar, but the interesting part will be seeing how divergent their careers become and if Harper is really the “Chosen One.” For now, we just want to see them play some amazing baseball this weekend. Here’s to great young baseball players!