Fantasy Baseball 2019: Bryce Harper Signs With Phillies

Bryce Harper signed with the Phillies. What does his addition to the team mean for fantasy baseball?

It was the longest conversation of the offseason. Where will Bryce Harper sign? Well, that question was answered on Thursday when he signed an unprecedented 13-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. The offense was already good but his inclusion makes them a World Series favorite. What does this mean for fantasy baseball?

Harper is very familiar with the National League East. So, he’s played a few games at Citizens Bank Park. For his career, he has a .268/.365/.564 slash line with 14 home runs, 32 RBIs and 48 hits over 50 games.

With CBP ranking fourth in home runs, 10th in hits and 12th in runs, Harper should be very valuable for fantasy owners for the next eight to 10 years.

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He has a solid lineup around him, giving him a lot of protection. They have new additions Jean Segura and Andrew McCutchen in the first two spots with Harper batting after them.

Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez round out the rest of the lineup. Just a couple of years ago, this would have been the NL All-Star team.

Harper has hit under .250 in two of the last three seasons. Then again, with over 100 walks in three of the last four seasons, his opportunities to hit the ball are less than his contemporaries. Harper had career-bests in his hard-hit and soft-hit rates last season, 42.3 and 11.8 percent respectively.

The only negative that could impact his value is how much he faces his former team. The Nationals made a big move earlier this offseason by bringing in Patrick Corbin. He joins Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to form a dangerous top three in the rotation. He will still have to face the New York Mets one-two punch in Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard.

Looking at the Phillies schedule, they play the Nationals just 19 times. The odds of those three pitchers lining up to play the Phillies in each of those games is unlikely. Harper will get to face Anibal Sanchez, Jeremy Hellickson and the random pitchers the Miami Marlins will roll out throughout the season.

Before the signing, I had Bryce Harper as my No. 10 outfielder, behind Andrew Benintendi and Giancarlo Stanton. Now that he moves to Philadelphia, I think he’ll move up a couple of spots as we get closer to Opening Day.

Harper should easily hit 35 home runs, 105 RBIs and .268. He’s one of the many power hitters that won’t provide a great average but because of the power potential, he’s still worth a second-round pick.

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Harper’s and Manny Machado‘s new contracts and Nolan Arenado‘s extension lay the floor of what Mike Trout should get when he’s available on the market. That will be a whole other story for real and fantasy baseball.

Harper’s value would have plummeted if he signed with the San Francisco Giants. Staying in the NL East keeps him as a top-10 outfielder.

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