On Thursday, the Philadelphia Phillies and outfielder Bryce Harper agreed to terms on a 13-year deal worth $330 million. The contract features no opt-out clause but does grant him full no-trade protection.
This is, of course, a monumental day in Harper's career. We decided to observe the occasion by digging through the Baseball Hall of Fame's Diamond Mind exhibit -- a collection of scouting reports on major leaguers past and present -- to see what scouts once said about Harper.
Fortunately, there is one report on file from Harper's days at Southern Nevada Community College, written by Chicago White Sox scout John Kazanas. You can read the full report here.
Kazanas presciently projected Harper would grow into a 55 hit tool, a 65 power tool (with grade-70 raw), and a 60-arm. Those translate into a .270 batting average and 27 to 30 homers annually. Harper, to date, has a career .279 average and has homered 26 times per season.
Kazanas wrote that Harper's "power potential" was his "key element" and exclaimed that he had "light tower raw pop." Later, he noted that Harper had trouble with soft stuff and did not feature an "easy swing."
The summation section saw Kazanas acknowledge Harper was rumored as the top pick in the 2010 draft before ending on what proved to be a prescient comment for a White Sox organization who didn't seem to seriously pursue Harper: "1st round toss in Boras ouch!!!" -- or, in so many words, "he's going to want a lot of money to sign."
Kazanas was right once more: Harper received a signing bonus exceeding $6 million -- a number that pales in comparison to what the Phillies gave him almost nine years later.
