7/25/2023 0 Comments Mike trout vs bryce harper statsThe other part of Harper’s success is his selectivity at the plate. He’s hitting the outside pitches, but he’s pulling the heck out of them. You’ve probably heard people talking about how hitters should learn to “go the other way” on outside pitches as a means to handle getting pitched that way. There’s a reason pitchers typically stay away from hitters with power: because it’s very difficult to pull a ball on the outside part of the plate. Some have been high, some low, but all have been right around the edge of the plate and almost all of them have ended up over the right-field wall. The strange thing is that, other than how Harper’s slugging percentage over the last two weeks begins with a “2”, most of his homers during this streak have come on outside pitches that he’s pulled. Which, that’s where the ball goes when a left-handed hitter pulls it. More specifically, he is crushing the ball to right field. I spent some time going over his heat maps and you will be further shocked to learn he’s crushing the ball. 959 OPS - or, if you prefer meaningful numbers, a 164 wRC+ - over the past four seasons, so let’s all take what the kids call a chill pill. It takes true talent to OPS almost 2.000 in a 12 game span.īut all this isn’t nearly enough to make up for three seasons where his chief rival was essentially the MVP (remember the dust thing?). Harper’s slash line is silly now, but if the statistical revolution in baseball has taught us anything, it’s to beware of small sample sizes. The reality is some times players string hits together and put up super-human slash lines. Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post outlines some more of these mini-hot streaks here. From July 19 through August 2 of the same season, he hit. But maybe we shouldn’t be quite so sure about it because he’s kinda done this before.Ĭonsider: from April 17 through April 27 of 2013, Harper hit. And we should be excited about what he’s done. We’re all up in arms, screaming on talk radio, slamming our fat little fingers into the keys, all in excitement over Harper’s coming of age. So this thing is back on, right? The match-up of the century that turned out as one-sided as the tortoise versus the hare, as Tyson versus Spinks, as boxing versus human decency, is, it turns out, not over after all. You have to scroll down and scroll down and scroll down all… the… way… to… seventh before you find Trout languishing with just 2.0 WAR. Harper’s binge has put him at 3.1 WAR on the season, 0.5 WAR ahead of second place Dee Gordon which is a weird thing to write, but whatever. These are silly things done by a silly man who flaunts the realities of baseball before mashing them like a child playing with insects on a sidewalk. Yes, his slugging percentage starts with a number before the decimal. Yes, his home run-to-strikeout ratio is 2:1. If anyone in baseball has the ability to put up Barry Bonds-like numbers, it's Harper, and it could be as early as 2016.On that Wednesday, Harper went 3-for-5 with three home runs. This proves he's becoming an extremely intelligent hitter at an age where his physical abilities are at their peak. Harper led the NL in six major offensive categories last year, but it's the one he finished second in - walks - that stands out the most. However, he does have the ability to hit 50 home runs, whereas Goldschmidt's ceiling is around 40. This makes taking him second overall much riskier. Harper posted decent numbers in his first three seasons in the show, but nowhere near the type of numbers he posted a season ago. At 28, it's highly unlikely Goldschmidt regresses after setting career-highs in BA, OBP, SLG, OPS and SB a season ago. ConsistencyĪlthough their service time is close (4.059 seasons for Goldschmidt compared to 3.159 for Harper), Goldschmidt has posted three seasons of value as a first round pick in fantasy, despite only playing 109 games in 2014. Ben Revere and Anthony Rendon are great table setters, and while Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy and Jayson Werth don't offer the best protection in the league, they're superior to the players Goldschmidt has hitting behind him. Harper also has a much better supporting cast in 2016. Heading into the 2010 draft, he was touted as the best prospect since Alex Rodriguez. The upside and talent Harper possesses is unmatched. He's already played four seasons in the majors, yet he's still just 23. Harper was the NL MVP a season ago in a breakout year. The sure-fire MVP candidate has proven enough in the past three seasons to merit second overall pick status. Pollock hitting in the leadoff spot, Goldschmidt could very well top his career high of 125 RBIs. According to park factors, Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, ranked as the eighth-best hitters' ballpark in 2015.
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