Bryce Harper may finally face pitcher younger than him
By Len Nunes
22-year-old Bryce Harper, in his fourth MLB season, may finally face a pitcher younger than himself.
Bryce Harper was weeks away from turning 12 years old when the Montreal Expos transitioned into the Washington Nationals. In this interleague series versus the Toronto Blue Jays, the now 22-year-old Harper may do something he has never done before in his MLB career: face an opposing pitcher younger than himself.
It’s wild to think, but in 406 career games and 1,472 at-bats, Bryce Harper has never faced a pitcher younger himself!
Who’s the potential first pitcher Harper could face that is younger than him? Toronto Blue Jays reliever Roberto Osuna.
Roberto Osuna was born February 7, 1995. This makes Osuna almost 28 months younger than the currently on fire Bryce Harper.
The video shows Roberto Osuna’s first Major League appearance versus his first major league batter. A called third strike to New York Yankees; Alex Rodriguez on Wednesday April 8 is a great way to start a career.
To date, Roberto Osuna sports a 1.75 ERA and has 25 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. Impressive, right?
Equally, if not more, impressive is the following stat line for Bryce Harper, who currently leads the National League in wins above replacement (3.8), home runs (18), on-base-percentage (.469), slugging percentage (.724), OPS (1.193), runs (42) and walks (44).
So, if the baseball god’s allow the pitcher versus batter matchup of Roberto Osuna versus Bryce Harper to happen during Tuesday’s day/night double header or on Wednesday evening, who would you pick?