Mr. Stats Notes: The Bryce Harper/Juan Soto matchup

On Sunday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies play at Washington in a game that can be streamed on Peacock starting at 12pm ET. It’s a great chance to check in on two of the premiere talents in the game, Bryce Harper and Juan Soto.

Harper is the reigning National League MVP, coming off a season that he slugged .615 and had an OPS of 1.044.

Harper’s slugging, OPS, and OPS+ is a touch higher this year. Still not 30 years old, his career .920 OPS and OPS+ of 144 puts him in the stratosphere of players. Entering Thursday, Harper is batting .364/.444/.675 with 6 HR, 19 RBI over his past 20 games.  And this weekend, Bryce will bat against a Washington pitching staff that has allowed the most home runs in baseball.

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While his offensive production is still there, he has been limited to being a designated hitter due to his strained right elbow. To say the Phillies need him in the outfield is an understatement.

There’s one thing missing from Bryce’s resume. He hasn’t played in the postseason since joining the Phillies in 2019. Harper has played in four postseason series, and his teams are 0-4.

Worse, the team he left — the Nationals — won the World Series in 2019, the first season after his departure.

One of the main reasons Washington won the World Series was the play of then 20-years old Juan Soto. Soto was second in 2018 in the Rookie of the Year voting to Ronald Acuna, Jr. Soto finished second in the N.L. MVP voting last year to his former teammate Harper.

Juan Soto’s production has fallen this year, and for a good reason. There is absolutely no reason to pitch to him, and let him beat you. He leads the majors