Bryce Harper wants to see Bryson Stott have an everyday role on the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bryce Harper has been playing like the elite MVP-caliber version of himself over the last few weeks, and it’s starting to lead to more victories for the Philadelphia Phillies.
However, Harper isn't the only hitter in Philly's lineup who is starting to heat up.
Despite Bryson Stott's overall season stats showing, he's definitely headed in the right direction. Over the last two weeks, the 28-year-old has owned a .755 OPS, and he's hit three home runs in the last two games.
Harper believes that the value that Stott brings should easily make him an everyday player for this Phillies team, and he made that clear on Tuesday evening.
"He's an everyday player, and when you have a guy that needs to play every day, and, lefty [or] right, don't matter," Harper said.
"I mean, if he's gonna keep him out good at bats. He's an everyday guy. He always has been. When you take an everyday guy out of the lineup, it's tough for them to kind of get it going each day. I think you guys have seen that over the past couple days. I hope he gets that chance."
Oct 16, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) celebrates with second baseman Bryson Stott (5) after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in game one of the NLCS for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsThe biggest factor that can hold a player back from being an everyday player is their splits against right-handed and left-handed pitching, especially when they're not a switch-hitter like Stott.
The thing is, Stott does have pretty even career splits, no matter who is on the mound, with a .706 OPS against RHP and a .676 OPS against LHP.
Something else that Stott has going for him is that he currently has an average exit velocity of 90.5 mph and a hard-hit rate of 43.7 percent, which, if it stands, would be a career-high for the second baseman.
Even after Harper campaigned for Stott to see regular playing time, the infielder was out of the lineup on Wednesday evening with a lefty on the mound.
Interim skipper Don Mattingly still wants to keep everyone involved, including Edmund Sosa, and right now, that means Stott may not see consistent at-bats.
For how starved the Phillies' offense has been at times this season, if Stott's production continues, it'll be interesting to see at one point Stott is in the lineup every day as Harper so desperately wants to see.
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