Bryce Harper is known for his on-base ability throughout his MLB career.
The Philadelphia Phillies slugger has a high .390 OBP in his career with two teams; the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies.
His career walk rate is a cool 14.6 percent, but it decreased to 10.8 percent in the 2022 regular season and to 4.3 percent in the postseason.
“Bryce Harper has 1 walk in his last 38 plate appearances, over the NLDS and NLCS. Would expect the #Astros will pitch around him more often during the World Series,” MLB insider Jon Morosi tweeted.
Bryce Harper has 1 walk in his last 38 plate appearances, over the NLDS and NLCS.
Would expect the #Astros will pitch around him more often during the World Series. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 26, 2022
In the 2022 playoffs, Harper has five home runs, 11 RBI, and a cool .419/.444/.907 line, with a 1.351 OPS.
In the World Series, however, we may see some changes.
The Astros would likely prefer to face other hitters in the Phillies lineup rather than taking their chances with Harper, the winner of the 2021 NL MVP award and who has shown he is red-hot during the Phils’ postseason run.
Harper Needs To Take Whatever Houston Pitching Gives Him
If he starts seeing more balls, he has the plate discipline to avoid swinging at bad pitches and simply taking first base whenever Astros pitchers refuse to challenge him.
This is why the rest of the Phils’ lineup is so important for Philadelphia’s chances: Harper probably won’t be seeing too many pitches to hit, but Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, and Jean Segura probably will.
If they can make Houston pitchers pay for getting Harper on base, the Phillies might have a chance.
Harper needs to be patient, though: he needs to take whatever Astros pitchers offer.
If they decide to challenge him, he should be swinging but otherwise, he shouldn’t be expanding the zone and swinging at bad pitches.
That’s when strikeouts and less-than-ideal contact take place.
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