Harper hit 22 home runs in his rookie season, including this May 27 solo shot against the Atlanta Braves. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Even before he was taken with the first overall pick of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, the Nationals’ Bryce Harper was already the focus of plenty of media scrutiny. He appeared on his first Sports Illustrated cover in May 2009, as a high-school sophomore, while his path through amateur and minor leagues earned him something of a reputation that he quickly shed once he hit the majors last May.

Harper’s path to the Nationals’ starting lineup is the topic of a one-hour documentary by MLB Productions that is set to be broadcast tomorrow night on ESPN. The short film, Bryce Begins, follows the young player from his childhood in Nevada to his first big-league season last year, in which he was pivotal in bringing playoff baseball back to Washington.

In a clip released by MLB, Harper discusses his indefatigable practice regimens as inspired by his father, Ron Harper, a Las Vegas ironworker who spent long days installing rebar on construction sites in conditions that often reached extreme, uncomfortable conditions.

Bryce Begins airs tomorrow at 9 p.m. on ESPN.