By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper entered the 2019 season — his first of 13 in red pinstripes — with high expectations.
Harper answered, and arguably excelled, those expectations over his first 12 games, slashing .325/.491/.700 with three doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, 13 walks and 15 strikeouts over his first dozen games with the club. The Phillies won eight of the contests (.667).
Over Harper's next 29 games through May 14, however — in which the Phillies went 16-13 (.552) — the six-time All-Star slashed just .179/.320/.330 with seven doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI and 20 walks. He struck out (41) in nearly one-third of his 128 plate appearances. From May 4 to May 14 alone, Harper struck out in 18 of his 44 plate appearances — a 40.9 percent rate.
Since, Harper admirably put the "booing" aside, and quietly did what any Philadelphia fan would hope and expect — turn his slump around, and more.
Harper's Last 8 Games: 13-for-32 (.406), 6 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 2 BB, 12 SO
Harper's Series vs. Cardinals (Last 3 Games):
- 8-for-12 (.667), 6 XBH (5 doubles, 1 HR), 0 BB, 3 SO
- Harper logged multiple extra-base hits in three straight games for just the second time of his career (April 16-19, 2017).
Over his last 15 games — including Thursday's series finale loss to the St. Louis Cardinals — Harper has 20 hits in 60 at-bats — including nine doubles, three home runs, and 16 RBI; in addition, over this stretch, the Las Vegas, Nevada, native has raised his batting average 33 points — from .219 to .252.
The #Phillies’ Bryce Harper on hitting the ball well despite not walking that much: pic.twitter.com/Fl1DrPlNuE
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) May 30, 2019
Harper does have as many strikeouts (20) as hits since May 15, however, while walking only four times — a much lower rate than over his first 41 games (33 walks). Clearly, Harper, for now, has put prioritizing walking aside; his 19 doubles this season not only lead the Phillies, but also tie the Pittsburgh Pirates' Josh Bell and the Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton for the most in MLB.
In addition, Harper's Harper's 11 doubles in May are his most ever in a single month. The last Phillies players to double 11 or more times in May was in 2014 — Marlon Byrd (11) and Chase Utley (11). Harper could best that mark Friday evening on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Surely, the Phillies would not be 10 games over .500 with a multiple-game lead in the National League East had it not been for Harper's contributions, let alone presence on the team.
The eight-year veteran is just as the beginning of his hot stretch, and so far we likely have only seen a glimpse of his greatest possible contributions to a playoff-contending team.
