Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci did the big feature on Bryce Harper last year, and Verducci has continued to follow the Harper story. Today, he writes that Harper, the No. 1 prospect for this year's draft, won't be playing catcher as a professional.

Verducci never says it that way, of course. But this part of the story and quote from Harper's adviser, Scott Boras, says it all:

Harper is looking at four years of minor league ball if he catches, and perhaps half of that if he plays the outfield. Boras doesn't want him catching. "No baseball person in his right mind will have the guy catch," says Boras, who believes that catching puts a valuable hitter at too great a risk of wear and tear.

Harper has played outfield and third base in addition to catching this spring, and scouts long have wondered if the Nationals, who figure to select Harper No. 1 overall, can afford to put Harper's powerful bat behind the plate. Scouts agree Harper has the tools to catch, but it's his bat that separates him from the pack. His tool-set marks him best as a right fielder in the future, and with Boras coming out so strongly against Harper catching, that should allow all of us to close the door on a Stephen Strasburg/Bryce Harper future battery.