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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: the only time I will talk about Bryce Harper

By Alan Carpenter

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals jogs off the field during the end of the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on September 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 26: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals jogs off the field during the end of the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park on September 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 30: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals hits a ninth inning double against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 30, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 30: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals hits a ninth inning double against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 30, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

The Lineup

The Braves need another left-handed thumper bat… and this is the only one that’s truly available at this point.  The others available today… just aren’t exactly formidable.

Add that to the fact that the minor leagues are a bit short on outfielders of any ilk right now:  the best possibilities are Cristian Pache (great tools, but definitely glove-first) and Drew Waters (who just completed a partial High-A season).

Who else could you get with a proven track record?  Let’s look – here are the most productive outfielders over the past 5 seasons:

Also:  the best performing 2018-19 OF’s that the Braves have checked in on are Brantley (19th, 15.0 WAR) and Pollock (20th, 14.9).  Heck, Ender Inciarte is 24th on that board (13.3).

So is Harper actually twice as good as the other options available?  You could make an argument that he’s close to that, yeah.

Harper’s numbers have been a bit mixed – down in 2014 due to injury (only 100 games) and again in 2016 (due to a bad year).  2018 started slowly, but picked back up in the Summer.  In 2015, we saw what he’s capable of:  9.3 WAR with 42 homers in an MVP year.

Which of these players do you want… or better asked: which of these could you actually get?  Stanton might be the only one available, and at 29 years old, the biggest years of his contract are still ahead (through 2027).  Trout my be available after 2 more seasons, but do you want that contract?

By the way – Freddie Freeman?  He’s put up 23.5 WAR over those same seasons – so how about the thought of having that pair of he and Harper back-to-back in a lineup (never mind putting Acuña Jr. with them)?

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