Sizing up Bryce Harper’s numbers halfway through the Phillies’ season
His home run numbers are down and his strikeouts are up compared with this same point in the season over the last five years.
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The Phillies turn the halfway pole of the season a modest five games above .500, but they are feeling a lot better about themselves after completing a four-game sweep of the Mets.
Somewhat lost in the ninth-inning heroics of Maikel Franco and Jean Segura was Bryce Harper’s slamming his 14th homer of the season earlier in the game. It was a 438-foot smash which accounted for the only run of the first eight innings.
Harper, for the first time in his career, has played in all 81 of his team’s first 81 games. He started 80 and appeared in one as a pinch-hitter. Overall for the year, he’s hitting .246, which would be the third time in four years he’s under .250.
His home run numbers also are down and his strikeouts are up compared with this same point in the season over the last five years. For the first time since 2014, Harper probably won’t be an All-Star next month. Good, he can use the break.
>>READ MORE: Looking at Phillies’ All-Star chances
As he showed Thursday, Harper remains one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. He just needs some help from time to time. Here’s a look at how Harper has fared in his team’s first 81 games over the last five seasons.
Quick hits: Harper’s slugging percentage is down primarily because he has hit just 14 home runs, the fewest he’s had at this point since 2014 (more on home runs below). His batting average in the second half last season was .284, which raised his number for the year to .249. Harper’s OPS for the second half was .940, nearly 100 points higher than the first half of 2018. So maybe Thursday’s homer -- and the dramatic victory that followed -- could be the start of something. Or maybe it’s the bamboo.
>>Read More: Bryce Harper’s player page
Quick hits: Harper had two homers in his last 81 at-bats before tattooing a Zack Wheeler pitch in the bottom of the sixth Thursday. He’s hit eight homers off righthanded pitchers (in 205 ABs) and six off lefties (in 92 at-bats). Harper has two homers in his last 89 at-bats on the road, where the Phillies play their next nine games -- all against NL-East rivals -- starting Friday in Miami.
Quick hits: Harper is tied with Chicago’s Javier Baez for the most strikeouts among National League hitters and tied for third among all major leaguers. He is second to teammate Rhys Hoskins in the NL in walks. Harper’s career highs for walks is 130 and whiffs is 169, both set last season. He reached 100 strikeouts last year in game No. 94 in his 321st at-bat. He’s at 98 strikeouts through 297 ABs this season.
Quick hits: Last year, the Phillies were 44-37 through 81 games, three games back of Atlanta (47-34). They are 4.5 games back of the Braves entering the weekend. Atlanta is headed to New York to play a three-game set against the Mets. They’ll host the Phillies for three starting Tuesday.
Quick hits: After scoring 31 runs in four games against the Mets, the Phillies improved their runs per game from 4.68 to 4.83. This is where Harper needs help. Ranking eighth as a team in runs scored and on-base percentage is asking a lot of your pitching staff.