Will the Phillies Get Bryce Harper Lineup Protection for 2026?

Why an elite Bryce Harper season in 2026 starts with less chasing

Bryce Harper is entering his eighth season with the Phillies. (Madeline Ressler/Phillies Nation) It’s a problem that has followed Bryce Harper for years.  For a third year in a row, Harper is at the top of the league leaderboard in pitches seen outside of the strike zone.  Pitches seen outside the strike zone in 2025 (min. 1,500 total pitches) Bryce Harper – 57% Oneil Cruz – 55.3% Yanier Diaz – 55.3% José Altuve – 54.9% Nick Castellanos – 54.2%…

Will the Phillies Get Bryce Harper Lineup Protection for 2026?

During the World Series, I lamented the Phillies’ inability to come up with clutch hits for the last two-ish years in the playoffs. Realistically, the stretch began with Games 6 and 7 against the Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park and continued against the New York Mets in 2024 and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025. If you watched any of the MLB postseason after the Phillies were eliminated once again in the NLDS, you saw how many clutch hits in clutc…