AFL Update: November 9, 2011
Make that 14 straight games for Bryce Harper, as the Nationals’ No. 1 prospect went 1-for-4 in the Scottsdale Scorpions’ 2-0 win last night.
Defensively, Harper remains a work in progress, committing his fourth error (throwing) while making no putouts in left field.
Likewise, the other Nationals position player to appear in the game, Zach Walters, notched his fifth “E” (fielding) but did have an assist while playing third base. At the plate, Walters was 1-for-3 with a walk, pushing his average to .209.
Matt Purke made another scoreless appearance, but labored through a 21-pitch inning to do it. He allowed a hit and a walk and struck out two. The according-to-BA #7 prospect was credited with a hold for his efforts.
Sue, can you characterize the errors that Harper is making in the outfield a bit better for us, is it that he is not being accurate with his throws? is he throwing to the wrong base? are his infield counterparts not capable of handling his throws? Any insight would help because I think it has been documented that arm strength is not an issue, right?
I wish I could but I honestly can’t because I’ve not seen him in person. I’ve chatted with those that have and the mantra of taking better routes keeps coming up, which leads me to believe that he’s trying to use his arm strength to compensate.