California Nationals: Bryce Harper Unanimous April Staff MVP

With the Washington Nationals muddling along with a of 15-14, itas safe to believe the teamas record might be even worse without the early-season spike from Bryce Harper. The sample size is obviously small, but aside from operating an unlikely to be sustained 61-homer rate and perhaps not working frequently (only three stolen base efforts to date), what stands out in taking a look at Harperas batting line are his increased strikeout and walk charges. Harper can be the current National League leader in OPS (1.150), which might be an immediate connection to his improved strikeout and walk charges. Increasing his impressive April numbers, Harper comes in at second in slugging percentage (.720), second in home runs (seven) and fourth in batting average (.344) in the NL. He also ranks amongst the top three in the entire category in WAR (1.8). No other Nationals player ever has documented as numerous house runs or RBI (18) as Harper through the month of April. This impressive begin to the growing season makes Harper a unanimous decision whilst the teamas April MVP. For the duration of his early-season success, Harper remains humble, knowing there is always room for improvement anywhere in his general game. Via Bill Ladson of MLB.com: "It isn't the method that you start. It's the way you finish. I do think that," Harper said. "I try to keep as even keel as I can, not get too large, not get too lowa'and improve on everything that I can, whether that is striking or baserunning or playing defense. The only thing I will do to greatly help my team win is progress, succeed on the field and attempt to make things good for our team." Harper placed remarkable April figures that trounce the majority of the group (besides Justin Upton), and despite the Nationals' slow start, the stat point that he made is clearly needed to keep the team afloat. The future already looks like now for Harper, and he will undoubtedly be inAthe center of most MVP conversations not only at the end of April, nevertheless the whole year, if he keeps up this pace. April Stat Line:.344 BA, 9 HR, 18 RBI, 19 Runs Scored,.720 SLG, 1.150 OPS, 1.8 WAR Respectable April MVP Mention: Jordan Zimmermann also finished the month of April red hot. He capped off an impressive month with a one-hit shutout of the Cincinnati Reds. Zimmermann completed the month with five wins and also (like Harper) helped keep the Nationals profitable after having a slow start. While Zimmermann is usually overshadowed by teammates Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez, he has the capacity to emerge as one of the National League's best starting pitchers. All statsAcourtesy of Baseball-Reference.com Follow @Andy_Rocco

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