Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies' Superstar Cold Streak Should End Soon

The Philadelphia Phillies' superstar is not off to a great start this season, but don't worry too much about it yet.
Dylan Sanders|
Apr 12, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3)
Apr 12, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) | Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are just above .500 to start the season. While they are still squarely in the race for the division and wild card, the Phillies would like to start seeing more consistent success.

One reason for the slower-than-planned start is that they have some players not performing at an expected level.

One of the more shocking slumps on the team right now is superstar first baseman Bryce Harper.

Bleacher Reports' Kerry Miller says that it should not be a worrying start. In his recent article exploring the 'hot streaks and slumps' around the league, he listed the Phillies' cold streak as a 'sell.'

Harper is batting with a .197/.290/.683 to begin 2024. This would be a career-worst pace, as numbers are down across the board.

The 31-year-old is a three-time Silver Slugger and two-time Hank Aaron Award winner. His bat has been historically great, so he does have some leeway for a slump.

Looking at the trends of his career, one of the biggest determining factors right now is that he just isn't making as solid of contact with the ball.

He is barreling up balls less and rarely finding the sweet-spot of the ball. His barrel percentage last year was an elite 15.2% and is now down at 8.9%, still slightly above average but not as good. His sweet-spot rate last year was an above average 36.8% last year and has dropped to a below average 33.3%.

Miller is right in saying that Harper's cold start should not be too worrisome. History says that he should turn things around. It would be extremely shocking if Harper just had all of his talent randomly disappear.

Players do tend to drop in efficiency as they age, but Harper should not be at that point yet. His issues seems fixable, which is good news for Philadelphia fans.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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