Bryce Harper and Josh Donaldson had monster years. With 83 home runs, 222 RBIs, 79 doubles, 240 runs, and 356 hits between the two of them, they had almost as much offensive production as the Atlanta Braves did as a team in 2015 (the Braves had 100 HRs and 548 RBIs).
Bryce Harper
Josh Donaldson
But how will Mondo and the @BringerofRain20 follow up such monster campaigns? Below are two 2016 season predictions (courtesy of OOTP16 and baseball-reference.com) for both Harper and Donaldson.
Bryce Harper
Josh Donaldson
In each case, I think OOTP16 was overly conservative for their 2016 predictions. Harper’s .273 average for 2016 might not be too far off, but a .264 average for Donaldson seems quite low after a .297 clip in 2015. I don’t think we will see 40+ home runs from the pair again next year, but I do see at least 30 for each. I think the number of doubles predicted by baseball-reference.com for each player (28 for Harper and 32 for Donaldson) is spot on. I see closer to 6 WAR seasons for each of them next year.
Bryce should have another stellar season, seeing as he is taking good care of himself with his diet…
It’s not like I’m out eating McDonald’s and Del Taco every night. I eat good: my mom fixes dinner every single night – baked chicken, fish – she cooks a great meal every single night.
The pitching has been the big change. It’s easier to relax when you’re not behind all the time. We were getting bombed for a while. Now we know how to get people out. The team is coming together.
I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if Rizzo, McCutchen, Goldschmidt or Posey overtakes Harper next year. I could see Trout or Correa take the throne from Donaldson in 2016.
Photo credit:
- fishatbat.com/wp-content/images/NL-MVP-Award.jpg
- foxsports.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/Buzzer/Images/2015/05/18/bryce-harper1.vnocropresize.940.529.medium.26.jpg
- sports-images.vice.com/images/articles/meta/2015/07/13/josh-donaldsons-leap-1436799798.jpg?crop=0.7115009746588694xw:1xh;0.20662768031189083xw,0xh&output-quality=75
Categories: (GM) General Musings, MLB, Player Comparison, Player Projections, Player Spotlight
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