PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper whiffed at the first two pitches Braves righty Nick Anderson threw him Tuesday night. They were both curveballs and they were both strikes. Harper could not tie the game with one swing — the Phillies trailed by three runs in the eighth inning and there was a runner on first — but Harper wanted to drive something.
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He missed another curveball.
“I get down 0-2 and I’m thinking he’s going to throw me a heater in that position,” Harper said after a 4-2 Phillies loss to first-place Atlanta. “Behind in the count, I sold out for the heater and swung at a ball that went 54 feet. You know?”
So it goes. Harper is seeing fewer fastballs than he ever has in his career. It’s not the sole reason he’s gone 21 games without a home run — the third-longest streak of his career. He has mustered one homer in his last 32 games. He has not had a power outage like that since 2012, his rookie season.
No one, naturally, is concerned about this development. Harper is Harper.
“I’ve never really struggled with power in my career,” Harper said. “I can say that. It’s not me talking great about myself. But I just feel like the power will come.”
“He’s hit the ball hard,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He hit the ball hard twice tonight. He’s just not getting the ball up in the air. But he will. He will. History tells us that.”
The Phillies (38-35) have been playing their best baseball of late. It has invigorated their season. They went 13-2 in the 15-game stretch before Tuesday but gained no ground in the National League East because the Braves also went 13-2. So it goes. There will be nights like Tuesday when half of their bullpen is unavailable because of recent workloads and when the Phillies ding Spencer Strider for eight hits over six innings only to score one run.
It would help if some of those hits cleared the wall.
Harper is aware. He’s 41 games into his season and it’s not all bad. He is hitting .301. He has recorded two hits in three straight games. But all six of those hits were singles.
“I feel good,” Harper said. “Yeah. I mean, of course, the power numbers aren’t there. But I feel strong. I feel good. I feel like my at-bats have been good. I can always get better and improve. But, for where I’m at right now, I think I feel pretty good.”
He’s putting balls in play at about the same average velocity as in previous seasons. It’s a tick lower but still ranks in the upper echelon of hitters in the sport. But he’s carrying the highest groundball rate of his career. More of those hard-hit balls have come on the ground and there is less damage found on the ground. And with a steadier diet of breaking balls, Harper hasn’t found the right path. He’s lost more than 150 points of slugging percentage on breaking balls from 2022 to 2023. The Braves threw him seven off-speed pitches Tuesday night. He swung and missed at six of them.
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It’s interesting because, last season, teams fed Harper fastballs once he returned from a two-month absence caused by a broken left thumb. Harper had an accelerated rehab process from that injury — much like his return from Tommy John surgery in 2023 — and something didn’t feel right until he smashed a home run in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series in St. Louis. The rest is history.
So, maybe it takes one powerful swing to trigger the good feelings again this season.
“I just have to stay the course,” Harper said. “I can’t try to do it because if I try to do it, then I’m going to punch out and not get on base. I have to take my walks. I have to keep getting on base and having good days.”
This whole season is a study in patience for Harper. He’s continued to do regular pregame workouts at first base in preparation to play a position he’s never played later this season. He fired a baseball from 120 feet Tuesday afternoon — the farthest distance at which he’s played catch in more than 14 months. “Good,” Harper said when asked to assess his progress.
The Phillies have repeatedly set a timeline of around Aug. 1 for Harper’s return to the field. Thomson reiterated that again Tuesday, saying it would not be until after the All-Star break “for sure.” Harper has beaten timelines before, but he’s reached a point in the recovery that the Phillies and Harper are not willing to rush. There were reasons he could return from surgery more quickly than expected as a hitter. But his reconstructed right elbow is tested most on overhand throws, so the Phillies are being deliberate with every step.
No one wants to risk a recurrence of the elbow injury that would not only dampen his chances of playing in the field but also remove him from the lineup.
Could Harper make it to first base faster than expected?
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“I don’t know,” Thomson said. “I really don’t. He’s made me a liar so many times because he’s such a quick healer. I don’t know.”
“I’m not even close to being there right now,” Harper said. “We threw 120 (feet) today for the first time. So, I mean, it feels good coming out. But I just don’t think we’re there right now.”
The Phillies are better optimized with Harper, provided he can handle it, at first base. That would allow Alec Bohm to play third base with Kody Clemens and Edmundo Sosa less exposed as reserves. Kyle Schwarber could slide into a role as the permanent designated hitter. The Phillies could then fill left field either through an internal solution or a trade before the Aug. 1 deadline.
The timing of everything could present a challenge to veteran executive Dave Dombrowski. Would he make a trade for a corner outfielder before seeing Harper play first base in a game? What if there are any hitches to the schedule of Harper’s current throwing program? What if Harper decides he doesn’t feel comfortable enough at first base?
These are all issues for later. Right now, the Phillies would just like to see Harper hit one over the fence.
“But I can’t try to do that,” Harper said. “If I try to do it, then it’s just not going to be good.”
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(Top photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
