The Phillies’ only hope resides in their fan-favorite, Bryce Harper

The Phillies’ only hope resides in their fan-favorite, Bryce Harper originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten off to a rough start for 2026, and things are looking very bleak as the calendar flips to May. But, there is a little bit of hope, and it is a former World Series champion that is quite possibly the fans' overall favorite player.

Of course, it can only be first baseman Bryce Harper.

This season has gone pretty well for the 33-year-old, as he is one of the best hitters in this underwhelming lineup. With a .263 batting average, he has smashed six home runs and drove in 19 runs thus far. Looking at the rest of the lineup, only Designated Hitter Kyle Schwarber has had a better season, but his batting average and strikeouts are much worse than Harper.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report has deemed Harper as the "Most Valuable Player" on the third-worst team in all of baseball, behind the New York Mets and . The Phillies are lucky to have him at the moment, and he will be a major component of whether they can crawl there way out of the bottom of Major League Baseball.