Sire of Fort Myers Final Update: Ode to Ryne Harper

Had no idea who Harper was until this spring.  I love the movement on his pitches and his K rate is nice as well.  He has been good at getting out of jams with guys on base, too.  It would be nice if he got the call but I can also understand if the Twins send him down and keep Moran or Guilmet to start the season.

Harper hasn't had any MLB success yet and it might be nice to see he keeps throwing this well for another month before adding him to the 40 man and if he doesn't pitch well after being added risk losing him.  

He has proven he has the stuff to get guys out.  Here's hoping this is the year he breaks through.

I understand Harper has no MLB time and the others do. (Although not recently). And I understand ST numbers are usually not a basis to make a roster decision. But Harper has been outstanding, steady, and has flat out out-pitched his competition. At some point dont you ride the guy on a hot streak performing the best?

A relief pitcher that depends on a big, slow curveball to offset his underwhelming 90mph heater? If your goal as manager is to see how much gray hair you can sprout in one season, this is how you do it. 

Don't get me wrong, I'd be fascinated if Harper makes the team. But after these hitters study film and see him a couple times, will that slow curve still get so many wild flails?  I'm afraid the biggest advantage Harper has is that hitters haven't seen his stuff yet. That might provide dividends for the first couple weeks in April. After that...eh.

If there were a prospect in the Twins' organization with those numbers, people would had been screaming for him to make the team this season....

No, they would be happy if he was traded for Brian Schales.

With the way Romero has pitched this spring I'm ok with Harper making the roster. There's something about the way he throws that looks hard to square up. I can't back this up with anything, but that's the way it looked from that video. His curve looks pretty, I'd give him a shot.

Speaking as someone with no practical experience, I'm thinking Harper's release is oddly deceptive and nuanced. He may be able to continue to baffle hitters longer than some expect.

Speaking as someone with no practical experience, I'm thinking Harper's release is oddly deceptive and nuanced. He may be able to continue to baffle hitters longer than some expect.

Baffling hitters is a highly desirable quality! I sure hope he can continue to do that during this season. So far this Harper story has been remarkable ... and fun.

I've loved Harper since his days in the Braves system. He's a guy who doesn't have huge stuff, but he's a great guy, and he simply gets outs. Heck, he has a 2.56 career ERA in just over 450 minor league innings, all tossed in relief.