The Braves took Harper in the 14th round of the 2022 draft, using the 425th pick to take the righty out of the University of Southern Mississippi. He received a $140,000 signing bonus to join the organization.
What were the expectations for 2025?
Landon Harper had perhaps the most underrated 2024 season of any Atlanta pitching prospect. In 32 appearances between Rome and Mississippi, Harper pitched to a 2.43 ERA while striking out 64 and walking just 14 in 77.2 innings pitched.
Throughout his professional career, Harper has shown excellent command, but he hasn’t missed many bats, making his prospect profile less than noticeable.
Going into 2025, which would be his first full season in Double-A, it would be interesting to see if he could continue to show off the same command while also striking out a few strikeouts along the way.
After such a stellar season that also included competing in the Arizona Fall League, Harper was ready to take that next step.
Overall, the 2025 season has been a bit of an up and down one for Harper – both in a literal and metaphorical sense. Since being drafted in 2022, most of Harper’s appearances have been as a reliever.
However, in 2025 he went back and forth between starting (14 starts) and being used as a reliever, making a total of 26 appearances, all with Columbus.
During that stretch, Harper understandably saw a career-high in innings pitched with 107.2. While the ERA also rose to 3.59 this year, Harper still managed to keep walks down, issuing just 21 free passes and striking out 105 over the course of the season.
There’s a legitimate chance Harper has a future in a major league bullpen, in some sort of swingman-type role. His stuff won’t be flashy and his numbers will most likely always hover around the middle of the pack, but he’s efficient and uses his pitches extremely well.
As for where he goes in 2026, it’s a little hard to say. If the organization wants to continue expanding him as a starter, there’s a good chance Harper will start back with Double-A Columbus next season to make a few starts. If he will be used primarily as a reliever, Harper will likely be sent straight to Gwinnett to kick off the year.
There will always be a need for guys who can throw strikes and limit the number of walks they issue, so there’s a good chance that even if Harper doesn’t end up in Atlanta one day, he’ll probably get a shot at a big league roster somewhere down the line.
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