tommy harper

[tomwistar]

I keep seeing headlines: "Harper steals 5 bases in loss." He dominates the record books for stolen bases. But his obp and ba (and defense) are weak. Anybody found a way to use him effectively? Where do you bat him in the lineup? Hitting 8th, can he score 80 or so runs?

[Risden]

He would be PERFECT (IMHO) as the 9th hitter in a DH league. Not enough OBP or BA to bat at the top, but a nice speedster at the bottom of the order with the top of the lineup to follow...

I'm not too sure where he would best fit in a conventional league/lineup. I had him once for about 50 games and swapped him out.

[franky35]

I think Harper is best used as the left fielder and in a platoon where he only bats against righties. Against, righties only he hits better and has a higher SB %. He is a defensive liability at 3rd, and his OBP/power is pretty low for a left fielder.

I have had him for 2 partial seasons. Bat him first, in front of 2 good hitters for average adn he'll score practically every time he gets on. Also is good in front of a double-play hitter and will occasionally drag along a slower runner in a double steal.

Or bat him 7th in front of a double-play hitter and/or a bad clutch hitter. With 2 out, Harper steals second and the bad clutch hitter is walked. If the pitcher hits, at least you start the next inning with your leadoff.

his numbers in a platoon
349 47 4 9 46 44 52 8 .203 .304 .290 / 52 steals in partial season

[The Biomechanical Man]

He played leftfield for me and batted lead-off. He didn't miss a game, put up decent numbers, and helped me make the playoffs: [url=http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/1969/team/team_other.html?user_id=1081]Miracle Mets[/url]

[mjf309]

I ended up using him as a platoon 3b against lefties at Forbes:

295 43 10 5 23 39 28 11 .214 .298 .304

I started the season using him as my regular 3b, but a BA below 200 forced me to change.

[franky35]

platoon against lefties? Did you mean righties? Harper hits righties better, plus (and in his case it's a big plus) it's easier to steal against righties. So, platooning him against lefties doesn't make any sense.