The prestigious Washington Nationals had the opening pick of the night for the MLB Amateur Draft Monday night and decided to go with a very popular amateur player from Las Vegas, 17-year-old Bryce Harper. Being so young you may wonder how he made it into the draft – well, here is the story.

Harper wanted to be eligible for draft this season so instead of playing his high school junior season, he opted to test for and receive his GED. He then went on to enroll at the College of Southern Nevada instead of waiting until 2011. Many probably find this move of Harper’s devastating thinking that he ruined his life by taking this chance when there was no guarantee for anything.

However, the apparent move was a good one because he was hitting a .442 with 89 RBI and 29 homers throughout 66 games. However, his season did end too soon as he was ejected from a game last week at the Junior College World Series. Monday night, his future looked bright when chosen as the number 1 overall draft pick and the first draft pick of the Washington Nationals.

Now, Harper and the Nationals must reach a contract agreement prior to August 16. Therefore, while he may be young, he is probably going to be one of the best players in the Minors until he reaches his time to debut in the Major Leagues. In addition, the Nationals stated that they drafted Harper as an outfielder so his days are pretty much over as catcher. However, Harper probably doesn’t mind because the fact of the matter is that he’ll likely progress faster as an outfielder than he would as a catcher, which will grab him a spot in the Majors much quicker.

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