Bryce Harper won’t improve in 2022
It will be hard for Bryce Harper to top a season in which he tied for the MLB lead in doubles and led in slugging, OPS, OPS+, and won his second Silver Slugger, MVP award, and Hank Aaron Award, but we’d have absolutely no complaints if he replicated it.
Baseball-Reference projects that Harper will be great in 2022, just not as great. Essentially, they’re anticipating his offensive output to decrease across the board.
Even if Harper doesn’t improve – or more realistically, gets a bit worse in 2022 – he won’t be the problem. He certainly wasn’t the problem in 2021; in fact, he was one of the only reasons the Phillies stayed relevant as long as they did this season. He shouldn’t have to carry an entire offense by himself, and as he essentially proved this year, no player can carry a team by themselves.
But maybe he’ll be an All-Star in 2022. That would be hilarious.