First Pitch: Why Phillies insist Bryce Harper is an MVP candidate despite missing a month

DENVER — Look up the definition of just how valuable a Most Valuable Player can be and you’ll see a picture of Bryce Harper for the 2023 Philadelphia Phillies.

Despite not making his season debut until May 2 after undergoing offseason Tommy John surgery, Harper is now showing exactly how much of an impact he can make on the Phillies. While he may already have two MVP awards in his trophy case (one with the Washington Nationals in 2015 and one with the Phillies in 2021), this season could be one where Harper earns the hardware by not only coming back from injury, but doing it with head-shaking speed and eye-popping production.

Part of that production was a two-run blast off Colorado closer Pierce Johnson on Saturday night, a shot that traveled 439 feet and ricocheted off the facing of the second deck at Coors Field at 110.2 mph.

Watch the video above and you’ll notice at the very end that Harper interacts with some teenage Rockies fans sitting near the Phillies on deck circle. There was some talk coming from that section before Harper hit the home run, and the slugger just wanted to remind them of his prowess at the plate as he headed back to the dugout.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said about riling up Harper while smiling after the game. “That’s just me.”

“It’s always fun. I’ll leave it at that,” Harper said of the lively fan interaction.

Phillies: Bryce Harper makes an MVP argument

It’s not a wise choice to give Harper any more motivation than he already has to carry the Phillies back into the postseason and help snap them out of an early-season funk. Harper’s return coincided with a five-game winning streak that he helped extend with the Saturday night shot into the mile high air.

“That was expected, right?” Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm said after Harper connected on a two-run eighth-inning double (the 300th of his career, by the way) on Friday night that gave the Phillies what would be the winning runs. “I think everybody was kind of waiting for that. Those are the situations where he always seemed so comfortable and calm. He’s always coming through in those spots. We’re happy to have him back for sure.”

Harper’s return is helping up and down the lineup, including with Nick Castellanos, who has heated up in recent games. Over his last eight games heading into Sunday’s getaway game in Denver, Castellanos was slashing .375/.412/.594.

“You can’t hide talent,” Castellanos told me inside the Phillies clubhouse. “As the old saying goes, the cream rises to the top. With us, it has just taken some time for guys to get into the groove and understand what their roles are. We now have some big pieces back from injury and that is making a difference.”

Harper is making a difference for the Phillies with his bat, but also setting the tone for the team with his hustle. His steal of third base on Friday night turned into a late Philadelphia run and Harper said he was going to stay aggressive with his play, despite just coming back from injury. On Saturday, he turned a flare into center into a hustle double, gesturing to the Phillies dugout with emotion after avoiding the tag to reach second safely.

“It’s a big field. I was just trying to do the best I could to get there,” Harper said.

Harper showed his emotion and passion on Sunday during a benches-clearing incident in Denver. Afterwards, Thomson praised Harper for standing up for the entire team.

“You never want to see your star players get thrown out of the game, but he’s protecting his teammates,” Thomson said during his postgame comments about the scrum. “That’s what this group does. They protect each other. They fight for each other. I’m proud of him for it. He’s an emotional guy and he was sticking up for his teammates.”

There’s a lot of the 2023 season still ahead, and Harper’s goal is to get the Phillies back to the Fall Classic. After falling short last season in the World Series and missing time to start the 2023 campaign, there is plenty of motivation for Harper to be a very valuable (and emotional) player in that quest.