Can Bryce Harper really make run at Triple Crown?

Washington Nationals star outfielder Bryce Harper is already a National League MVP, but can he really make a run at the Triple Crown in 2017?

3+4=7.

That is the explanation as to why Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper wears No. 34, as a tribute to late New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle. Like Mantle, Harper burst into the league at an extremely young age with huge expectations upon him. While both players’ skills on the diamond cannot be questioned, they could not be more different people off the field, which could lead to Harper one day passing The Mick in every statistical category.

Harper is a member of The Church of Latter Day Saints, and for that reason, he does not drink alcohol. During his playing days, Mantle’s drinking was the stuff of legend, and along with his knees, could be the reason he never hit 700 home runs. Yet in 1956, Mantle did something that has only been accomplished 17 times by a batter in Major League history, slugging his way to the Triple Crown.

Sixty-one years later, another star outfielder is looking to accomplish that feat, and judging by the first couple of weeks of the season, it’s a possibility. Harper is batting .400 through 18 games, with seven home runs, and 20 RBI, a start that could mean immortality by season’s end. There is still a ton of baseball left in the season, but Harper looks rejuvenated after a rough 2016 campaign.

At the College of Southern Nevada, Harper hit .443 with a school-record 31 home runs. He earned the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best amateur player in the country, cementing his status as the No. 1 pick in the following draft. The Nationals then inked the 17-year-old to a five-year deal. He has since taken the baseball world by storm, winning the National League MVP in 2012, while being named to four All-Star Games in his five years in MLB.

The 2015 season was his MVP year, hitting .330 in 153 games with an NL-best 42 home runs. He also led the league in runs scored (118), on-base percentage (.460) and slugging (.649), which led to him finishing with the best OPS (1.109) in the league. As a 22-year-old, Harper became the youngest unanimous selection for the MVP Award, though he would have a hard time replicating that kind of production the following season.

Last season, Harper took a major step back, batting only .234 for the season. He was inconsistent at the plate, though he did walk over 100 times for the second straight year. His 108 free passes included 20 of the intentional variety, the highest number in the league. He came into the 2017 season on fire, and with arguably his best lineup of players around him, it could wind up being a memorable season in our Nation’s Capital.

It has been 80 years since a National League player has hit for the Triple Crown, as Joe Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals accomplished the feat back in 1937. Medwick was the Most Valuable Player that season, and at only 25 years old, was just getting started on a Hall of Fame career. Harper is a year younger than Medwick was when he hit for the Triple Crown, and appears to be putting it all together this season.

This version of the Nationals is pretty stacked, with big-time hitters up and down the lineup. Harper is  in the middle of a lineup that has at least six players capable of hitting over .300, giving him tremendous protection. Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, and Adam Lind are all hitting over .300 to start the season, with Jayson Werth and Adam Eaton not far behind. Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon have yet to find their groove for a team that currently sits in first place in the NL East with a 13-5 mark (going into Monday’s action).

At his current pace, Harper would finish the 2017 season with 66 home runs, 190 RBI, and a batting average close to .400. While none of those numbers are happening, he does have the talent to finish atop the National League in all three categories. Harper is hitting the ball to all fields, and hitting it hard, as 13 of his 24 hits have gone for extra bases.

Throughout his career, Harper has struggled with the strikeout, which could wind up being his Achilles heel. However, he also walks a ton, and that could play a role in his batting average staying high enough in the race for a batting title. Miguel Cabrera, who was Major League Baseball’s last Triple Crown winner back in 2012, slashed .330/44/139 in his magical season, numbers that are attainable for a player of Harper’s talent.

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It is only April, and players tend to wear down as the season hits the dog days of summer. If Harper can stay consistent at the plate and keep putting good at-bats together, he should get good pitches with the lineup around him. Anytime he puts the ball on the bat, good things are going to happen, and maybe for one magical summer, he can do that often enough to snap the 80-year Triple Crown drought in the National League.