HS Baseball Phenom leaves after Sophomore year... Thoughts

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

I think if he's throwing a baseball around 95 mph now at age 16, then by 23-24 he will just end up blowing his arm out and need rotator cuff surgery and that will be the end of his career....before most players his age even get started...not to mention that baseball is as much a mental game as any sport....I'm sure he is lacking in maturity in some way....which is a recipe for disaster as well....but I do wish him luck.....

He's not trying to be a professional pitcher (he's a catcher), so he shouldn't throw his arm out. Pitching is likely going to be his fallback if he can't hit in the majors.

I agree that this probably isn't a good idea. I would at least play one more year of high school before going pro. He's never faced anyone like he would in the majors (or even high minors) and doing poorly could leave him shellshocked and ruin his whole career. Harper is advised by Scott Boras too, so they'll likely be expecting at least a $20 million contract, and a lot of teams would balk at that asking price for someone who played 2 years of high school baseball.