2025 Fantasy Baseball: Bryce Harper Profile, Preview, Predictions
Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper has been one of the top first basemen being drafted in 2025 fantasy baseball leagues. Find out if he's worth the high ADP investment or if you should fade him for the upcoming season.
1B Bryce Harper, PHI (ADP – 21.1)
Thirteen seasons into Harper's career, he never clicked on five category cylinders or been the best player in the league. He continues to have a favorable approach (strikeout rate – 21.9 and walk rate – 12.0), and his average hit rate (1.841) last season suggested a higher outcome in home runs. His contact batting average (.381) has had a high floor over the past four seasons.
Last year, Harper was elite before the All-Star break (.301/56/21/61/4 over 302 at-bats), but he wasn’t the same player after suffering a hamstring injury in late June. After missing 10 days, his bat was mediocre at best over his final 248 at-bats (29 runs, nine home runs, 26 RBIs, and three steals). He played well vs. left-handing pitching (.301/28/9/31 over 196 at-bats).
Every Bryce Harper Home Run from the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/6kBTtGi28Q
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) January 31, 2025
His swing path was more fly-ball favoring (39.6% - 30.5 in 2023 and 34.5 in 2022) last season, but Harper finished below his career average (20.6) in HR/FB rate (18.3). His exit velocity (91.1 mph) has regressed for three consecutive years while maintaining a high floor in hard-hit rate (48.2). Surprisingly, he’s had fewer than 400 RBI chances in nine of his 13 seasons in the majors, five of which were due to injuries, and in 2020, major league teams only played 60 games.
Fantasy Outlook: Harper gets on base enough where 100+ runs should be attainable and has the foundation skill set to pop in home runs. Last year, his FPGscore (3.67) ranked his 25th for hitters. It’s hard to believe Harper will have the best season of his career at age 32, but I can’t dismiss his overall skill set. Start the bidding at .280/85/35/95/10 and hope he beats those targets in all five categories.
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Paul Skenes Profile, Preview, Predictions
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.