The 2015 season is still young, we are just midway through the month of May, but all I can say is that Washington Nationals’ right fielder Bryce Harper is exploding onto the scene and starting to show baseball fans why he was such a highly touted prospect.
The 22 year old phenom was just a double short of the cycle. He went 3 for 4, hit yet another home run, and drove in four runs in Washington’s victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Harper is now hitting .338/.476/.729 with 14 home runs and 37 RBI in just 39 games this season. Just to put that into perspective, in the 100 games he played in last season, he hit 13 home runs, knocked in just 32 runs and hit just .273. He began his career as a 19 year old kid with expectations that were through the roof, and he struggled to live up to those expectations for the first few seasons, but now it appears as if he is hitting his stride.
Not only that, but he might be one of the best hitters in the Major Leagues. I can’t take Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout off of the top of my list because he’s been off the charts since the day he came into the league, and players with more of a repertoire like Marlins’ outfielder Giancarlo Stanton and Pirates’ outfielder Andrew McCutchen should be considered ahead of Harper, but the gap is starting to close in a little.
The Nationals have won the National League East in two of the last three seasons, and have posted close to 100 wins in both of those years. They are widely considered the most talented team in the National League, but in order for them to get over that hump in becoming a legitimate World Series title team, Harper needs to continue to be that feared hitter in the middle of the lineup that he’s been for the first month and a half of the season. They are currently 22-17 and half a game behind the New York Mets for first place in the division.
