Bryce Harper left the game on April 26th after he injured his thumb. The young star had issues with his thumb while he was still in high school, and the Nationals thought that he may have reinjured it. An MRI on the thumb revealed that he would need surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, and would be out until at least early July. (SIA Alert)
After two months without their superstar left fielder, Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals were relieved to see Harper back in the lineup on July 1st. It’s not to say that the Nats were destined for failure without him, but Bryce Harper brings a certain kind of fire to the clubhouse atmosphere that not too many other players have.
In Harper’s place was Scott Hairston, Kevin Frandsen, and Nate McLouth. Between the three of them, there were no outfield assists. Besides the defensive downgrade in Harper’s absence, the offense suffered to the tune of .235/.300/.324 and three homeruns.
The Nationals as a whole saw no real change in stats with or without Harper.
Nationals triple slash without Harper
.271/.271/.305
Nationals triple slash with Harper:
.267.314/.382
Obviously, with or without Harper the batting average stays pretty much the same. On base and slugging percentage both go up a considerable amount when Harper is in the lineup,
Harper’s triple slash:
.252/.325/.360
Since Harper’s return, the Nationals are 5-2. The overall record when Bryce Harper is not on the DL is 19-13. Without Harper the Nats are 31-27. Keep in mind that earlier this season, Manager Matt Williams benched Harper for lack of hustle.
Since Harper’s return, he has hit a dismal .059. That’s 1-17 with no extra base-hits. He has also struck out seven times in five games.
I have no doubt that Bryce Harper will return to superstar form, but like Matt Williams has said, it will take time for him to get his swing back. With the All Star Break approaching, I would not be surprised to see the Nationals send Harper down to AAA just to get him some at-bats. While it wouldn’t surprise me, I also wouldn’t count on it.
The Nationals will play their final series to close out the first half against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. The Nats are currently one game up on the Atlanta Braves while the Miami Marlins have fallen to six games back. The Nationals are hot having won eight of their last ten games while the Phillies have lost six of their last ten.
For the Nats to stay atop the NL East, they need Bryce Harper to hit like he knows how. At the age of 23, he is already one of the leaders on this National team.
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