In going 1-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday’s 4-1 Phillies win against the Marlins, Bryce Harper continued one of the most patient months of his career.
The two-time NL MVP’s August on-base percentage is .518 – on pace to be the highest single-month OBP of his career — while his walk rate is 30.1 percent.
Harper has not been swinging the bat as much since the calendar flipped to August. His swing rate so far (39.3 percent) would be the third-lowest single-month swing rate of his career. His chase rate (20.5 percent) so far would be the second-lowest single-month chase rate of his career.
For comparison, Harper’s season swing rate entering August was 51.5 percent. His chase rate was 34.2 percent.
It’s been hard not to notice the change in Harper’s approach the last few weeks. He’s been very passive, taking pitches outside the strike zone with ease. He’s been content with taking his walks, passing the baton to the next guy. He has 25 walks in 18 August games. His career best for walks in a month is 38.
Harper had a lofty goal for his season walk total back in spring training.
“Just making sure I do it,” Harper said about having plate discipline in March. “I think obviously that’s a big thing for me. So if I can hone in on my strike zone and understand I’m really good when I walk, so if I can walk 140, 150 times this year, then I think I’ll be right where I want to be.”
With his 25 walks this month, Harper’s season total is at 91, the most in MLB. He’s on pace for 115 free passes this season. That’d be his most in a season as a Phillie and third-most in his career.
Harper’s patience at the plate had thinned over the years. He had one of the most aggressive seasons of his career in 2025. He chased pitches at the second-highest rate of his career (35.6 percent.) He swung at a career-high 54.1 percent of the first pitches he saw. Harper’s 2025 swing rate (54.1 percent) was the second-highest of his career and 12th-highest in the majors.
Harper’s aggressiveness has not been without reason. For years, pitchers have offered him very little to swing at inside the zone.
Harper’s 45.8 percent in-zone rate is ninth-lowest in the majors this season among qualified hitters. In each of three seasons prior, his in-zone rates were the lowest in baseball.
Some of that could be because he was chasing more. Some of it was probably because he’s Bryce Harper; he does damage to pitches inside the zone.
The guy Harper has been willing to pass the baton to for most of this month has been Luis Arraez. Harper’s walk in the third inning on Wednesday brought Arraez to the plate with one out. Arraez hit a two-run home run to put the Phillies ahead 3-0.
Arraez, who owns a seven-game hit streak, is batting .288/.304/.439 since taking over as the Phillies’ cleanup hitter. Having Harper hit ahead of him has been nice.
“Hitting behind him, he’s one of the best hitters in the league,” Arraez said. “He’s an MVP. He just goes up there and tries to put the ball in play. If they throw a strike, he hits it. If they throw a ball, he takes it. It’s good for me when he gets on base. I just try to put the ball in play and start a rally.”
Harper’s success at the plate this month – he has a .310/.518/.517 slash line – has been a driving factor behind the Phillies having one of MLB’s top offenses in August. They lead the majors in on-base percentage (.368) and rank second in runs (97) this month. Their .778 OPS ranks third.
With his patience of late, pitchers could start to challenge Harper in the zone more often. But with his .292 batting average and .615 slugging percentage on pitches in the zone this season, maybe they won’t. He seems to be OK with that. At least for now.
– Ty Daubert contributed to this story.
