Nats' prospect Harper heading to Richmond

The Richmond Flying Squirrels anticipate a bigger Friday crowd than originally projected, and a swelled media contingent, in response to the Washington Nationals' promotion of mega-prospect Bryce Harper from Class A Hagerstown to Double-A Harrisburg on Monday.

Harrisburg will start a four-day, five-game series at The Diamond on Friday night. The opener likely will be the only game of the five in which Harper plays (Saturday activity is a doubleheader). The 18-year-old outfielder, selected No. 1 by the Nationals in the 2010 draft and reportedly signed to a five-year, $9.9 million contract, is scheduled to participate in the Futures Game on Sunday in Phoenix.

Harper probably will leave Richmond on Saturday to take part in the Sunday showcase for top minor-leaguers in Arizona. The Harrisburg-Richmond Monday meeting, the finale of the five-game set, begins at 12:05 p.m. Contacted on Monday, Terry Byrom, Harrisburg's director of broadcasting/media relations, said that Harper will be with the Senators for Friday night's game at The Diamond.

Brendon Porter, the Squirrels' director of tickets, said Monday afternoon that the impact of Harper's presence on ticket sales for Friday's 7:05 p.m. game at The Diamond could not be fairly measured until today because of the July 4 holiday.

Todd Parnell, the Squirrels' vice president and COO, expects a large Friday crowd, in part because of the proximity of Washington and the number of Nationals supporters in the Richmond area.

"It will just be another memory-making opportunity for the fans," Parnell said. "It will be exciting for the fans to see a guy who's probably the most heralded prospect in, I would say, a decade, at least.

"That's what minor-league baseball is all about, the opportunity for fans to see guys like that who are going to be in the game for years and years and years and years."

Harrisburg returns to The Diamond for a four-game series that starts on July 21. That is the Senators' final regular-season appearance in Richmond. Nationals management said on Monday that Harper would spend the rest of this season at Double-A Harrisburg.

Harper, an outfielder from Las Vegas, batted .318 with 14 homers, 46 RBIs and 19 steals in 72 games for Hagerstown. Friday night in Richmond would be his first Double-A road game.

The Senators opened a four-game series against visiting Erie on Monday night. Through seven innings, Harper had two hits, a walk and scored a run.

By moving Harper from Hagerstown of the Class A South Atlantic League to Double-A Harrisburg, the Nationals had him skip a level. The step above Hagerstown on the typical course of a Nationals' minor-leaguer would be Potomac, of the High-A Carolina League.

While the stats have looked good, Harper has had to adjust to the rigors and routine of professional baseball and the maturity that goes with it. He notoriously puckered a kiss toward a pitcher while rounding the bases after hitting a home run last month — and was greeted with a high-and-inside pitch the next time he batted.

"The batting average was there," Nationals' General Manager Mike Rizzo said. "And the power, offensive production numbers are there, but a lot more goes into it than that. He's a work in progress in his base-running, his base-stealing, his defensive play, the small, intricate parts of the game. We feel he's progressed to the point where we want to see him do that at the next level."

Rizzo said Harper will play mostly left field in Harrisburg after spending most of his time in center and right in Hagerstown. Harper is adjusting to the outfield after playing catcher in high school and college.