Yesterday we learned that the “National Treasure” Stephen Strasburg was the fourth most marketable player in Major League Baseball according to a survey done by SportsBusiness Daily.
Well today the publication put out their list of the “Most Marketable Players under the age of 25” and it surprise no one that Strasburg was ranked at the top of the list however at number five was the name of Bryce Harper the Nationals top draft pick who has not been signed yet.
So of the SBD’s Top Five” most marketable players in baseball the Nationals has two of them.
The survey was distributed to corporate brand managers, marketing and branding executives, agencies and baseball media, who were asked to list, in order, the top five most marketable players under the age of 25 in MLB. Points were awarded on a five-point scale, with a player awarded five points for a first-place vote, four points for second place, etc.
Harper is expected to get the same hype that Strasburg received after signing with the Nationals and it amazing that he would be ranked ahead of the likes of Pablo Sandoval of the Giants, Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates and a couple of Orioles Adam Jones and Matt Wieters.
According to SBD much like Strasburg's spot at No. 4 in our MLB-wide survey, Harper finishing fifth among under-25 baseball players shows perhaps a dearth of national marketing potential among the game's young talent. The Nationals last month drafted Harper to join Strasburg as the two faces of baseball in DC, and although the 17-year-old has yet to play a game as a professional, the hype makes him relevant to Madison Avenue. "In the context of how aware baseball fans, and by extension consumers, are of the next generation of players, I think there has been a certain amount of focus on him for a while," said IMG Global Consulting Managing Dir, Senior VP & Head David Abrutyn. "It’s not unlike a player who has come up through the college basketball ranks that people look at, or someone who developed in college football, who has been on the consumer and fan radar screen as someone to watch. He certainly fits that category, so if he’s able to realize the potential -- as Strasburg has -- you’d expect the built-in awareness of who he is will then lead to the ability to realize success in the off-field arena."
MLB MOST MARKETABLE PLAYERS UNDER THE AGE OF 25:
- Stephen Strasburg - Nationals
- Evan Longoria - Rays
- Jason Heyward - Braves
- David Price - Rays
- Bryce Harper – Nationals