Phillies 2023 MVP: Ranking the top 5 Most Valuable Phillies position players

No. 4: Bryce Harper, 3.3 fWAR

We all know about Bryce Harper's miraculous return from Tommy John surgery and his commitment to helping his team by taking up a new position halfway through a career on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory.

Thanks to his quick recovery, Harper had a significant impact on the 2023 Phillies and helped carry them to the postseason. He accumulated his 3.3 WAR in 126 games and 546 plate appearances. But when you consider how long it took the two-time MVP to look like himself, he actually piled up the WAR value in a hurry over the second half of the season.

From his May 2 debut until the end of June, he hit .283 with a .768 OPS and three home runs in 49 games. While it was expected that it would take a while for Harper to hit like Harper, Phillies fans were waiting for that day to come as the team bumbled along.

From July 1 onward, he slashed .300/.413/.575. That's a much more Harper-esque .988 OPS. He mashed 18 home runs, piled up 52 RBI, and scored 56 runs over 77 games, good for a 163 wRC+ as the team took off and powered into the top Wild Card spot.

He had his hottest stretch at the plate in the second half of August, when he posted a .458 batting average and 1.636 OPS, with eight long balls, 17 RBI, and 16 runs scored over 13 games from Aug. 16 to Aug. 30.

So, just how important was Harper to the Phillies? During those two weeks in August, the Phillies went 9-4, improving their record to 74-59. They increased their lead in the Wild Card to 5.0 games, a lead they wouldn't relinquish, and improved their odds of making the playoffs from 82.2 percent to 96.8 percent.

All said, the 31-year-old Harper finished with a .293/.401/.499 slash line, 21 homers, 72 RBI, 84 runs, and even chipped in 11 stolen bases for a final 142 wRC+.