The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Is Harper the MVP front-runner? Phillies’ star making a strong case
It began with Bryce Harper’s first at-bat Friday night, continued through his home run Sunday, and might persist for another eight weeks — who knows, maybe longer? — as the rhythmic drumbeat at Citizens Bank Park. “M-V-P! M-V-P!”
A month ago, it would have seemed silly. The Phillies couldn’t gather momentum in a middling National League East, and their best player’s season was defined more by nagging injuries, including a recurring back problem, than clutch moments or big numbers.
But the Phillies are suddenly the hottest team in baseball, winners of eight games in a row — their longest streak in 10 years — and division leaders by two games over the Atlanta Braves and 21⁄2 over the swooning New York Mets. And Harper ranks second in the league in on-base percentage (.413), fourth in slugging (.570), sixth in walks (56), sixth in batting average (.302), and tied for ninth in doubles (26). He also has 20 home runs and 12 stolen bases.
“My guess is there’s been some other people that have been talked about (as MVP candidates) that are having really, really good years,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “But if he keeps doing it, we’ll be talking about it. We’ve got two months to go, and if he continues to put up numbers like this, people are going to talk about it.”
It’s time to start the conversation.
Harper got off to a roaring start, with a 1.083 OPS through 22 games, before taking a 97-mph fastball off the face and wrist April 28 in St. Louis. He scuffled for the next few weeks and spent 14 days on the injured list with a bruised forearm. He entered July with 13 home runs but only 23 RBIs, a product mostly of bad luck. Despite batting third or fourth in the order, he wasn’t getting many RBI opportunities. Each of his homers was a solo shot.
But beginning with a five-hit, four-RBI game July 6 at Wrigley Field, Harper has been on a tear. He’s 38-for-103 (.369) with 16 doubles, seven homers, 20 RBIs, more walks (21) than strikeouts (18), and a .480 on-base percentage. He also has boosted his OPS+ to 168, second best of his career after his MVP season of 2015, and is tied for sixth in the NL in WAR (3.8, according to FanGraphs).
The biggest knock against Harper: He has only 45 RBIs and is on pace for 65, which would be the lowest total for a non-pitcher NL MVP in a full season since Pete Rose in 1973 (64).
“He’s been an on-base machine,” Girardi said. “He’s driving in runs. He’s hitting home runs. His defense has been really, really good. He’s doing everything. A lot of stolen bases. He’s been very active.”
Chalk it up to better health. Harper played at least 147 games in four of the last five full seasons and started 212 of 222 games in his first two years with the Phillies.