This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Bryce Harper likes how this Phillies lineup looks.
It has been a month and a day since Rob Thomson hit Bryson Stott leadoff, Trea Turner second and Harper and Kyle Schwarber third and fourth, respectively, on April 11 in St. Louis. It was the first time Harper and Schwarber had hit back-to-back as teammates. They have hit back-to-back in every game since – 28 consecutive games – including Sunday night’s 3-0 victory over Cleveland at Progressive Field.
It could stay that way for the foreseeable future.
But what about next year and beyond?
“I was talking to somebody the other day,” Harper told MLB.com last week. “And I was like, ‘Man, it would be weird not to have [Schwarber] in our clubhouse.’ He’s such a good leader. He’s such a good person in the community. Great family, great person. I think he’s a guy that obviously our team can build around. Obviously, he’s going to make a lot of money [as a free agent]. He’s going to be a very hot commodity on the market. He’s a guy that hits homers. He’s a great clubhouse guy and a leader. I hope he doesn’t get [to free agency]. He’s a guy that we can use for the next few years.”
Harper offered those thoughts when asked if he thinks Schwarber – because of his eye, bat speed and power – could be like David Ortiz and smash home runs into his late 30s? It is a question to consider because Schwarber, 32, will be a free agent following the season.
Schwarber has said he hopes to stay in Philadelphia.
“I don’t want him to go anywhere else,” Harper said. “And that’s not me saying anything to ownership or Dave [Dombrowski]. Obviously, they want him too. And I think he wants to be here. I think he likes the community. He likes where he lives. But also, you know, it’s nice to be wanted. I don’t know if he’s going to get there [to free agency]. Like I said, I hope he doesn’t. But if he does, he’s going to have a lot of teams lined up for his services because he’s dang good.”
Schwarber homered twice on Sunday night. He has hit 14 homers this season, which is tied with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.
From 2022-25, Schwarber is second in baseball with 145 home runs. Only Judge (171) has more.
Schwarber’s ability to change a game with one swing is why Thomson started hitting him behind Harper last month.
He hoped it might get Harper more pitches to hit.
From Opening Day through April 10, Harper saw pitches in the zone 44.2 percent of the time, which ranked 258th out of 280 hitters (minimum 100 pitches). But from April 11 through Saturday, Harper has seen pitches in the zone only 42.8 percent of the time, which is 241st out of 242 hitters (minimum 250 pitches).
Yes, Harper has seen fewer pitches in the zone since Schwarber started hitting behind him.
There isn’t much to read into that, other than pitchers will be careful with certain hitters, regardless of who is hitting behind them.
“I think in every series, teams go in and they circle a name,” Harper said. “They just say, ‘Don’t let him beat us.’ I think it’s always been that way for a lot of guys on teams. We go in and do the same thing. If we play Atlanta, don’t let [Ronald] Acuña [Jr.] beat you. If we play the Dodgers, don’t let Shohei Ohtani beat you. Or Judge and the Yankees. It’s been that way my whole career.”
Harper’s in-zone percentage since April 11 is actually closer to his career mark (42.0 percent), so he is right about that.
“They want to play edge ball all the time, just playing the corners,” Harper said. “It’s just how it is.”
It’s a matter of being patient and capitalizing when a pitcher makes a mistake.
“There’s times when I do a great job with it,” Harper said. “There’s times when I don’t. I just can’t miss the mistakes. Even if I see one or two a game, I can’t miss them.”
Harper went 0-for-3 with a walk on Sunday night. He is batting .237 with a .782 OPS this season. He has expressed his frustration about not meeting his expectations.
It should come in time. In the meantime, Schwarber has been coming up big.
“You can’t say enough about him and his leadership,” Harper said.