Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals and Gerrit Cole of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the last two No. 1 overall MLB Draft picks, are facing off Thursday afternoon in the Arizona Fall League. Harper, the power-hitting phenom who held his own in Class AA this year as an 18-year-old, is starting in left field and batting fifth for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
↵Cole is making his second professional start for the Mesa Solar Sox. Jason Grey, tweeting from the game, says that Cole's first five fastballs came in at 98, 98, 100, 97 and 97 MPH, respectively. Yikes.
↵Also, Pirates outfielder Robbie Grossman's performance has increasingly been a good reason for Bucs fans to check in on AFL box scores. Grossman homered in his first at-bat of the game, bringing his total to five so far. He's also batting .386. The AFL is a very favorable place for a hitter, so it's not uncommon for hitters to put up gaudy numbers, but Grossman has hit very well so far.
↵You can follow the game here.