Los Angeles Dodgers: Why Bryce Harper is worth a massive contract
By Jason Reed
2. Bryce Harper is a generational talent
Bryce Harper has been overshadowed a bit by fellow wonder kid Mike Trout (can they even be called wonder kids anymore?) Trout has been the better of the two stars and has already put together a resume that lead some to think that he could be the best player of all-time.
While Trout has been more consistent thus far in their careers I still stand by the same testament that I held five years ago that at his very best, Bryce Harper is a better baseball player than Mike Trout. The problem is getting that best out of Harper more often.
Just look at his 2015 MVP season. Harper scored 118 runs, slugged 42 bombs, drove in 99 RBIs and hit .330 with a 1.109 OPS. On FanGraphs, Harper’s WAR that season was 9.3. That is right up there with Mike Trout’s annual average since 2012 (9.1).
Many think that Harper is a veteran of the league, but he is not. He is just 26 years old, has not hit his prime yet and is going to be an all-star caliber player until he is at least 33 years old. That is eight all-star seasons out of Harper, so what if he falls off the last five years of his deal (which he probably won’t).
Many point to Harper’s year last season in which his average was down and the strikeouts were up as an example as to why the Dodgers should not sign him. However, the Nationals lineup is not as deep as the Dodgers and opposing pitchers would not have the luxury of walking Harper as frequently as they did.
Harper was walked 130 times last season. Joey Votto and a prime Jose Bautista are the only other players to walk 130 times since Barry Bonds retired in 2007.
Harper, at his very worst, still puts together a similar season as Max Muncy did in 2018. That is the absolute floor for Harper over the next season years.