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Heard on mlb network that he's batting about .190 in his last 42 games. I know batting average is 1 statistic & probably not the best statistic to judge a player on. However, when it's that low I think it's safe to say things are bad.
Nationals are actually still in the playoff race to so if Harper gets back to doing better Nationals can win that division IMO.
But let's say things don't change & he gets a little bit better but still nothing to get excited about.
Would Harper accept a QO after the season? You know the Nationals are going to offer him because if he signs else where it would mean another draft pick (around the 1st round which could turn out to be huge).
I figure QO probably would be around 17.5-18m next season and Nats would surely give Harper that.
If Harper accepts he can "reset" and hope for a better season that could come out to be more money in the long run.
I think Harper is going to demand in his next contract an opt out clause because that seems to be quite common these days. So he'd probably have a chance to continue to excel and get an even better contract before he is 30.
The way things are going I just can't see a team offering him 300m+ unless he starts improving. Nationals should still have a good team next year & he could probably make the fans pretty happy if he came out and said "there is unfinished business for me". Even though I think that would be BS.
Harper could turn himself into a more productive ballplayer this season if he would simply stop swinging the bat so much. The opposition has settled on a strategy of not throwing him strikes, Harper leads all of MLB in pitches seen out of the strike zone..and also in swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. If he started accepting all the walks he is being offered, he would have a mega OBA and eventually the opposition would have to abandon the strategy because it was backfiring. As long as Harper keeps flailing away at bad pitches, they will continue to throw him bad pitches.
But.....is Harper psychologically capable of such an adjustment? I have my doubts. He is a camera crazy prima donna whose entire identity is swept up in viewing himself as a occupying a level above mere mortals. Home runs validate his self image while base on balls do not. Being a big contributor, albeit one whose big contributions are less visible (lots of walks) is not at all in keeping with his notions of heroism.
So if things don't change an he ends the season batting under .230 and OBP % not much better than it is now. Could you see him signing a QO and try and bring his market value back up?
So if things don't change an he ends the season batting under .230 and OBP % not much better than it is now. Could you see him signing a QO and try and bring his market value back up?
Unless he makes the needed adjustments in his approach, next season will be more of the same.
His rate of swinging at pitches out of the zone is below his career average
Per FanGraph's plate discipline stats
His career contact rate for pitches outside the K zone is 59%. This season it has declined to 53.7%. For pitches inside the k zone his career rate is 84.2% and this season it has declined to 76.6%.
Maybe he needs glasses?
As I noted in an earlier post, a lot of Harper's seeming difficulties are a product of poor luck with batted balls. His bleeders ain't bleeding and his bloopers ain't blooping.
Harper is the poster child for how the picking of the all star team is a joke. All this fan voting thing accomplishes is that a lot of players from big market teams or with a big name from the past, whether deserving or not, get in.
He sure can hit batting practice balls from his hand picked pitcher.
I've heard Braves, Phillies or White Sox. Yankees don't need him nor his salary.
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