High schooler on cover of Sports Illustrated

 Mike White| Wednesday, June 3, 5:40 p.m.

Got an email yesterday from Sports Illustrated that contained a press release concerning the subject of the magazine's cover story this week.

The subject is a high school sophomore.

Bryce Harper is a 10th-grade baseball player at Las Vegas High School. The headline next to Harper's picture on the SI cover reads "Baseball's Chosen One." Years ago, SI had a similar cover with the same words. It was for LeBron James.

It seems some are questioning why SI would put a high school athlete on its cover. But why not? The kid is a heckuva story. He is 6 feet 3, 205 pounds. He hit a home run 517 feet as a 15-year-old. He hit another one 500 feet in a home-run hitting contest at Tropicana Field. His pitches have been clocked at 96 miles per hour. He had 11 home runs, 67 RBIs and hit .590 as a freshman.

What's the big deal with putting a high school kid on Sports Illustrated's cover? It certainly made me want to look at the story. "Baseball's Chosen One" might have been a little strong, but the kid does sound like a phenom.

Some say SI is putting undue pressure on the kid. But high school sports are becoming more and more publicized nationally. Because of the internet, people in Massachusetts now can find out the top high school basketball and football players in California, and vice versa. People seems to like reading about high school superstars.

The kid will be fine with all the SI publicity - but only if he has the right guidance at home. But reportedly Harper's parents might want him to get his GED so that he can get out o fhigh school and play baseball against better competition. That's not good. Nowadays, high school kids can get enough competition with off-season AAU and all-star tournaments. Plus, let the kid be a high school kid. Anyways, baseball isn't like basketball. If the kid is a pitcher, he better be careful he doesn't overuse his arm by the time he gets out of high school. 

So really, it's no big deal for SI to put a high school kid on the cover. Isn't the magazine's job to bring us interesting stories? This kid certainly sounds like one.