Back in 2010, Bryce Harper was the second biggest prospect of the year, with USA cards in a Bowman product where Stephen Strasburg took top billing. In 2011, pending his call up to the Majors, Harper became the top prospect in the set. Over the next few years, he had his ups and downs, but never really lived up to the hype. That has all changed this year, as his play in recent weeks has been some of the most productive games in MLB history.

Check out some of his recent prices:

2011 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Blue Refractor Auto BGS 9.5

2015 Topps Gallery of Greats Bryce Harper Jersey Auto

2011 Bowman Bryce Harper Auto RC BG 9.5

2015 Topps Museum Collection Bryce Harper Auto Quad Patch Booklet Gold

If you thought Kris Bryant was big this year, Harper was that big too. The hobby tends to get obsessed with potential, even more so than production. The thing is, Harper is still incredibly young, and has a long career ahead of him. There is a lot of time for him to develop, and there are many people who want him to be the biggest attraction in the game.

Since his time began, he has always lived in the shadow of Mike Trout, who has already notched an MVP and a few second place finishes to boot. Coming up at around the same time, Trout has become the hobby's biggest star, where Harper has found himself on the downturn of his value spike that happened over the last few years. His recent production has brought a lot of value back to the cards, but he has yet to convince the majority that he is ready to take the next step in his career.

Three weeks does not a career make, yet Harper seems to be a bit different than guys like Bryant and company, as his talent has been at the forefront of our consciousness since he socked some towering dingers back before entering Junior College the year before the draft. Now that those home runs are coming back in bunches, some collectors are finally seeing the return they have been waiting on year over year.

The question always remains, is the potential ever going to measure up to the production? If the answer is yes, that’s where we start to see all that value that Trout has achieved. If the answer is no, the player becomes on of the hundreds of players who never really made the impact they were supposed to.