The baseball world was completely captivated this past weekend by the long anticipated debut of someone whom everyone believes is a Hall of Fame player in the making—Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.

Ever since his high school days—and perhaps even before then—Harper has been on the radar due to his five-tool skills on the diamond. The Nationals selected Harper with the first overall selection in the 2010 MLB Draft, exactly one year after selecting similarly-hyped star pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick.

While Strasburg certainly garnered his share of media hype, Harper far surpassed that hype. Las Vegas oddmakers were fast at work setting an over/under for the date of Harper’s MLB debut, and the media firestorm continued as the press followed Harper’s every move after signing with the Nats in August 2010 for five years and $9.9 million.

Harper did little to dissuade opinions of his skills, batting .343 in the Arizona Fall League in 2010, and following up by hitting .297 with 17 HR and 58 RBI between Single-A and Double-A ball in 2011.

Harper continued impressing during spring training this year, however, he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to continue his development.

Harper’s stay in Syracuse wasn’t long—with left fielder Michael Morse on the disabled list until mid-season, the Nationals decided to give Harper his chance at the major league level, recalling him on April 27.

Harper’s debut came against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night, and to say that his opening act was highly anticipated would be a vast understatement, as the media swarmed to capture the biggest debut by a teenager since Ken Griffey Jr. started for the Seattle Mariners as a 19-year-old back in 1989.

Harper’s line on Saturday against the Dodgers wasn’t totally awe-inspiring, but impressive nonetheless. After a groundout and fly-out in his first two at-bats, Harper strode to the plate in the top of the seventh inning and belted a Chad Billingsley offering, sending a sharp line drive over the head of Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp for a double, Harper’s first MLB hit.

In the bottom of the seventh, Harper showed off his defensive skills. After Scott Hairston reached on an error, Dodgers’ catcher A.J. Ellis stroked a single to left field. With Hairston rounding third, Harper came up firing, throwing a bullet to catcher Wilson Ramos in time to nail Hairston at the plate. However, Ramos dropped the ball when making the tag on Hairston, and despite Harper’s perfect throw, the run scored.

Harper would again impress in the ninth inning, however. With Rick Ankiel at third base, Harper hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Ankiel and giving the Nationals a 2-1 lead at the time. The Nats would lose in extra innings, courtesy of a Matt Kemp walk-off home run, but the story was all about Harper and his more than impressive MLB debut.

On Sunday, Harper again started, this time in center field. In the bottom of fourth, with Andre Ethier aboard at first, Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe hit a deep drive to center field. Harper drifted back and made a leaping catch against the wall, robbing Uribe of extra bases.

Harper was 1-for-3 on Sunday, ending his debut weekend with a .333 average, a run batted in and two stellar defensive plays. The Nationals lost both games, getting swept by the Dodgers in the process, but it certainly wasn’t for the efforts of Harper.

Overall, Harper showed a poise that belied his age. Aside from getting fooled by a curveball from Dodgers starter Chris Capuano on Sunday, Harper didn’t look out of place in any way.

The Nationals are clearly a team intent on competing now. With the acquisitions of pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson during the offseason, GM Mike Rizzo built a team to contend now rather than later. Harper’s debut was about adding to the offense, not about a public relations push, and his efforts during his first two games in Los Angeles clearly showed that not only is Harper ready for prime time, he is also ready to help his team win now.