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Is this the Bryce Harper we’ve been waiting for?

By Kyle Franzoni

Oct 7, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper hits a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants in the 7th inning during game four of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper hits a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants in the 7th inning during game four of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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To say the Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is having a breakout season would be an understatement.

A 22-year-old player is still an odd thing in Major League Baseball. That same 22-year-old already having three full seasons of experience under his belt is an even bigger oddity. Such is the case with Washington National outfielder Bryce Harper.

Of course, things have always come early for Bryce Harper when it comes to baseball. We’re talking about a player who achieved his GED from high school so he could enter the MLB Draft at 17, and with a year of college experience behind him. With an advanced feel for the game at such a young age, Harper exhibited the promise and projectability that Major League teams look for on draft day. It was no wonder that he was the first overall pick of the Washington Nationals and was immediately singed to a Major League contract.

Those are some pretty lofty expectations for a kid to live up to and Bryce Harper found a way to exceed them at every level, even after making his Major League debut and putting together a rookie season that saw the then 19-year-old hold his own with a .270/.340/.477 slash line, 22 home runs, 98 runs scored, and 59 RBI. Overall, FanGraphs rated Harper as being worth 4.6 wins above average and a $29.7 million value on a $500k salary.

However, after netting the National League Rookie of the Year for 2012, a funny thing happened to Harper; he stagnated.

Bryce Harper’s all-out style of play caught up to him in both 2013 and 2014, with the outfielder missing a combined 106 games over the last two season with various ailments, including a torn ligament in his thumb in 2014. While Harper remained productive while on the field during that time, he failed to show the growth that many felt they would see. Between 2013 and 2014, Harper averaged a .273/.358/.457 slash-line with an average of 16 home runs and 45 RBI.

Those two years sort of dropped Harper off the MLB superstar map a bit, as fellow luminary Mike Trout became the talk of the game. However, that appears to be something Bryce Harper wants to set straight in 2015.

After hitting a respectable .286/.440/.545 with five home runs and 15 RBI, Harper has turned on the gas in May. Harper has claimed back-to-back National League Player of the Week awards after hitting an outstanding .400/.520/.983 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI in just 17 games. That offensive production has helped to lead the resurgent Nationals back from the dead, with the team posting a 13-4 record this month while riding Harper’s hot streak.

While the first three seasons of Bryce Harper’s career have been solid by any stretch of the imagination, his age-22 year has easily been what the Nationals were hoping for when they invested so heavily as a draft pick. He currently leads Major League Baseball with 38 RBI, a .474 on-base percentage, a .737 slugging mark, a 1.212 OPS, and an OPS+ of 224. Additionally, he leads MLB in advanced metrics like ISO (.401), wRC+ (218), and WAR (3.1). Only Nelson Cruz has hit more home runs than Harper’s 15.Keeping up this performance will lead to a National League MVP award, and at 22-years-old, that would make him the second-youngest in MLB history to win the award (Vida Blue was 21).

However, it is not the one-time award that interested Bryce Harper and the Nationals, it is the growth and the perennial performance that both parties most look forward to. With a good 15 or 16 years left to produce, Harper could put himself into some heady company. And if he can carry the Nationals on those broad shoulders along the way, so be it.

Next: 30 greatest outfielders in MLB history

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