What should Phillies fans expect out of Bryce Harper in year two?
After a successful first year in Philadelphia Bryce Harper is most definitely looking to take another step in production for the 2020 season.
After signing a 13-year/$330 million dollar contract on February 28 of last year Harper looked impressive, even with him missing the beginning bulk of Spring Training.
He slashed .260/.372/.510 with 35 home runs and a career-high 114 RBIs. He did that while playing above-average defense with a DRS of 9, second-best on the team behind JT Realmuto’s 11.
DRS (defensive runs saved) quantifies a player’s entire defensive performance by attempting to measure how many runs a defender saved. It takes into account errors, range, outfield arm and double-play ability.
What can we expect from Harper in 2020?
FanGraphs releases projections each year for every player and they are expecting a great year out of Bryce. They project him to slash .259/.383/.541 with 41 home runs and 102 RBIs in 150 games. Along with that, they predict 107 walks, 11 stolen bases and a fWAR of 4.3.
This type of season would surpass Harper’s 2019 year. They also believe he will have a slightly better OBP, a Slugging percentage 31 points higher and six more home runs than last season while driving in less RBIs and having eight more walks.
Baseball Reference also releases projections each season for players and they are thinking along the same lines as FanGraphs. The site is projecting him to slash .267/.380/.521 while picking up 97 RBIs with slightly less power, having him at 32 home runs.
Baseball References believes he will hit a little more for average with a little less power while still surpassing last seasons Slugging percentage and OBP.
I don’t think fans should expect a season like 2015 or 2017 type numbers but I wouldn’t say it is impossible. It is crazy to think this time last season Bryce still didn’t know where he was going to play for years to come. Having him here at the beginning of spring training and feeling comfortable with Philadelphia going into year two could be a huge benefit for him.
If there is one thing in the 2020 season we should expect, we should expect All-Star production from the Phillies superstar right fielder.