Bryce Harper took one for the team and moved to right field to enable the Philadelphia Phillies’ deadline trade. As August comes to a close, it turns out the shift has been a blessing in disguise for the former first baseman. His move to the outfield has brought out his hottest form at the plate in his seven years as a Phillie. As Harper continues to be electric at the plate, an MLB analyst has not hesitated to put him in the NL MVP conversation.
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“I think he’s on the fringes of the discussion,” Sean Kane said on the Phillies Talk podcast, per NBCS Philadelphia. “He’s certainly been super valuable for the Phillies in what he did defensively, moving from first base, where he was very comfortable, to playing right field, made a great catch on Wednesday, and he’s generally been good out there. So, I get it. Like, he deserves a lot of love.”
The Phillies signed Bryce Harper to a massive 13-year, $330 million contract ahead of the 2019 season. Eight seasons later, on Monday, Harper recorded his 1,000th hit for the Phillies at T-Mobile Park with a single off Logan Gilbert. He became the first Phillies hitter to do so since Ryan Howard in August 2011.
Harper has been dominant at the plate throughout August. He is also currently leading the league in walks (94), having drawn 28 in August alone. Harper is currently on a career-high 30-game on-base streak, but it would be wrong to assume that Harper is only focused on walks and not slugging.
Harper is batting .338 (27-for-80) and slugging .600 with 27 homers and 12 RBIs in August. His OPS is at 1.109.
Harper’s electric form at the plate has even stunned hitting coach Kevin Long, who has known the player since his Washington Nationals days. Long even reportedly asked Harper how he is pulling it off.
“And I couldn’t really give him an answer,” Harper told the Inquirer Sports in Seattle. “He was just like, ‘Why are you doing what you’re doing right now?’ I just haven’t really thought about it. Obviously, the walks have come in bunches the last three weeks. It’s a lot of walks. I’m not trying to walk. I’m not trying to do those things. I’m just trying to play the game, and if I’m walking, I’m walking.”
Apart from finding his offensive rhythm anew this year, Harper has also started all 135 games this season. His troubles with a sore knee could not hinder him. Harper holds a slash line of .266/.384/.504 and an .888 OPS.
Hence, Harper’s consistency has raised the very valid question of whether he should be in the NL MVP race. The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong has emerged as the favorite over Shohei Ohtani this year. But Harper, the former two-time MVP, is also not far off. It’s a discussion worth revisiting in September.