Fansided

Rumors of Bryce Harper’s demise have been greatly exaggerated

By Rucker Haringey

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 02: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals celebrates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Nationals Park on July 2, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 02: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals celebrates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Nationals Park on July 2, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Bryce Harper may have an ugly batting average, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. The rest of his numbers how he’s still an excellent player.

It’s really dangerous to evaluate any baseball player on just one statistic. That’s why concluding that Bryce Harper is now a bad player based on his .213 batting average is pretty foolish. A deeper dive into Harper’s numbers show he is still a very productive player.

The point here isn’t that Harper is as good this year as he has been in previous seasons. Clearly he’s endured a slow start to the 2018 campaign. All of his offensive numbers are currently lagging behind his career averages. His inability to be, well, Bryce Harper, is a big reason the Nationals are struggling. That doesn’t mean fans should be shoveling dirt on his grave.

Reason for optimism abounds. Harper may be pressing a bit at the plate, but he still has the second highest walk rate in MLB behind only Mike Trout. His willingness to remain patient even when mired in a protracted slump is an excellent sign.

More importantly, he’s also still hitting the ball with real authority. Harper may not be placing the ball where he or the Nationals would like, but he’s not rolling over for weak ground balls. He actually ranks 19th in the majors in terms of hard-hit rate. For the record, that means Harper is only hitting the ball hard 1.2% less than Trout is on the season.

Add it all up, and it would be foolish to think this season is anything other than an aberration for Harper. The notion that the Nationals should deal him before the deadline because of his slump is laughable. If the team doesn’t believe they can re-sign him and want to get something for him while they can, then by all means move him. However, trading him because of concerns about his current level of performance would be grounds for front office dismissal.

The real interesting question is whether or not one depressed season will affect Harper’s market this summer. There’s no secret he and his representatives will look for one of, if not the largest, contract in the history of the game. Expect to hear a lot of rhetoric from front offices about how one bad season should force him to lower his demands. It’s all going to be designed to save teams a few millions. No shrewd front offices will expect a significant discount due to this year’s numbers.

Next: 5 trade targets for the Nationals

Fans who don’t like Bryce Harper would be well served to take shots at his performance while they can. The chances of him bouncing back to his previous performance levels are quite high. Don’t be surprised if his performance picks up sharply after the All-Star break.

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