Harper's walk total could be turned into more stolen bases

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper continues to show patience at the plate. He walked twice in the series opener against the Marlins, putting his total for the young season at 26 free passes in 28 games, which is tops in the majors.

Nationals manager Matt Williams has noticed how Harper has waited for his pitches early this season.

"The ability to understand the strike zone, his strike zone," Williams said. "And that's a good thing. It's good that he's being patient. We surround him, generally, with proven run producers. The hope is that he comes up in a situation where they have no choice but to throw one over the plate and hopefully he does damage with it."

After the All-Star break last season, Harper was in the top 20 in the National League in walks. In 66 games after the All-Star break, Harper walked 25 times, good for a tie for 18th on the senior circuit. Patience was a virtue common in the Nationals lineup since last July. Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche and Anthony Rendon were listed in the top 11.

But that was 25 walks in 66 games. Harper has walked 26 times already this season, in just 28 contests.

"It's good thing that he's walking," Williams said. "It's good thing that he's on base for us, creating pressure for the opposition and giving other guys opportunities.

"You also want to swing at a good pitch. You also want to hit your pitch. To be patient enough to do that is important. It's really important. So if they're not going to throw you a pitch to hit, then the nature of the game is to take your walk and do something on the basepaths, whether it's a ball in the gap or whatever it is to score that run. I think he's doing fine."

The one thing that we aren't seeing much of this season is stolen bases from the Nationals.

The team was dead last in the major leagues with only three stolen bases in April. The Houston Astros swiped 29 bases in April, with the Cubs a close second with 25 thefts. The Nationals are not a running team, but only three stolen bases in April is a bit shocking. Of course, Denard Span was out for most of that time, and he had 31 stolen bases in 2014.

The Nationals were also not very successful on their jumps. The team was caught stealing six times, so they were stealing bases at only a 33 percent success rate in April.

Yet, the Nationals were ranked seventh in all of the majors in walks in that same month with 77. Essentially 77 free passes and the team only attempted nine stolen bases in that 30-day period.

Harper is 0-for-3 in stolen bases this season. Batting in the cleanup spot, the Nationals have let Ryan Zimmerman hit behind him to bring him in. But imagine if Harper had been stealing on a few off those walks? The Hit-and-run has been employed in some situations, but stealing might be an option to consider in May to generate some more offense - or at least wreak some more havoc on the basepaths.

Harper's speed and aggressiveness is an asset maybe not yet fully realized. But maybe in an effort to protect his health the Nationals have not asked him to steal bases as frequently the last two seasons. Harper had 18 stolen bases in 139 games in 2012, but then only 11 stolen bases in 118 games in 2013. He played 100 games last season with only two stolen bases.