Player of the Month again? Inside Bryce Harper’s Crazy June originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Bryce Harper, who was pleasantly surprised when he was named National League Player of the Month in May, fared much better in June as he headed for a second straight honor.
Simply put, Harper’s hot streaks look different. It’s not just about power, spraying the ball all over the field for hits, production with runners in scoring position or drawing walks — it’s all of the above.
It’s how Harper, in 20 games in June leading up to Wednesday’s series finale in Detroit, hit .390 with nine doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBI and 20 runs scored.
It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound now. On Tuesday evening, he doubled left-handed Tarik Skubal, who may start the All-Star Game for the American League. Skubal had allowed one extra-base hit to a left-handed hitter all season.
The night before, Harper hit a three-run homer off left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, who had also allowed only one extra base hit to a left-handed hitter all season.
If you care about WAR — wins above replacement — Fangraphs has Harper second in the National League behind Shohei Ohtani, while Baseball-Reference has him fourth behind Ohtani, Ketel Marte and Mookie Betts.
Defense at first base was the other part of Harper’s huge season. The eye test shows that he is already among the elite in the field, but that also applies to the defensive statistics.
According to MLB Statcast data, Christian Walker and Carlos Santana are the only two first basemen in the majors who have been worth more Outs Above Average than Harper.
Only Walker, Matt Olson and Michael Busch have had more Defensive Runs Saved, a separate metric from a separate outlet in Sports Info Solutions.
Harper doesn’t lead the NL in any category other than intentional walks, which is meaningful in itself because of all the damage Alec Bohm has done behind him. It tells you how determined some teams are in not wanting to get beat by Harper, even if the hitter is protecting him while hitting over .300 and on pace for over 130 RBI.
Harper’s NL Player of the Month award in May was his first as a Phillie and the third of his career. Shockingly, he wasn’t even named the Phils’ Player of the Week, despite winning an MVP and two Silver Sluggers with significantly better numbers as a Phillie than as a National.
Harper’s OPS this month is 106 points higher than Ohtani’s, who is second in the league. His 16 extra-base hits are two more than anyone in the NL. If he can avoid going 0 for 20 to end the month – and even if he does – he is in great shape to take home the prize for June as well.
