Nationals’ phenom Bryce Harper hit his 14th homer on Monday night for Class-A Hagerstown. Even though his numbers are amazing and worthy of a promotion, the team might hold him back to work on his maturity issues reports Jim Bowden of ESPN.

After hitting his home run on Monday, Harper decided to stay a little longer than usual at home plate admiring his blast like it was a beautiful sunset. After that, he began to slowly trot the bases.

Those actions displeased pitcher Zach Neal who starred at him, but the 2010 First Overall pick Harper decided to finish his masterpiece by blowing a kiss to Neal as he reached home plate. Though it is not known if Neal said something earlier in the game which caused Harper to react the way he did.

The team is now considering the idea of delaying his promotion a little longer to see if he matures a little bit and learns how to control his emotions on the field.

As Bowden points out, the Minors are a place for players to grow, and not just as players.

Harper is considered a child prodigy, the Doogie Howser of baseball as Bowden says, but he needs to control his emotions and be more professional. Actions like the one he displayed on Monday, could lead pitchers to throw at him, and we all know what a high 90’s fastball can do to a person.

Even if pitchers do not throw at him in fear league sanctions, they will probably look to seek revenge or send a message by hitting other players in the lineup. Blowing a kiss to a Major League pitcher is a behavior that won’t be tolerated.

Image by Chamber of Fear under the Creative Commons License.