Phillies have an unexpected Bryce Harper problem
Philadelphia would've been counting on better here.
Phillies have an unexpected Bryce Harper problem originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Philadelphia Phillies likely weren't expecting this early-season Bryce Harper development.
Simply put, Harper's defense has fallen off a cliff. Harper was the third-best first baseman in outs above average in 2024. Last season, he was still just above the midpoint and tied for 11th at his position.
So far this season, Harper is worst among first basemen and tied for last in baseball with Twins third baseman Royce Lewis. This trend is bizarre: Uhhhh Bryce Harper's defense... 2024: +8 OAA (3rd at 1B) 2025: +1 OAA (Tied for 11th at 1B) 2026: -5 OAA (Worst at 1B) He's tied with Royce Lewis for the worst mark for any defender at any position this season.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 14, 2026 MORE: Blue Jays' Ernie Clement is a battle between old-school and new-age baseball Harper's Baseball Savant page allows us to dig a little deeper into this. They've got a stat called "Success Rate" that they compared to "Estimated Success Rate. " Right now, Harper has a 53% success rate compared to a 67% expected success rate.