Boras: Bryce Harper's struggles not linked to contract year

Bryce Harper is struggling.

If you ask his agent, Scott Boras, the slugger's low batting average (.218) has nothing to do with his impending free agency at season's end, according to ESPN's Eddie Matz. In fact, Boras suggests it's not an appropriate measure of his client's success at the plate:

"I look at metrics about how hard you're hitting the ball, and what you're doing with the pitches that you can hit. When the league doesn't want to participate in a way that's customary, we can't look at players in customary ways," Boras said. "There's no question that with the walk rates that Bryce Harper has, he's going to have less hits. No doubt about that. You keep having to ask the question, why don't they do this to other players if it's so effective? The answer is that teams feel the benefit of pitching to those players, there's much less of a consequence than there is to pitch to Harp. I would assume that has to do with his extraordinary power."

Boras may have a point. Before Nolan Arenado went deep Tuesday night, he and Harper were tied for the National League lead with 21 home runs.

Only the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout has a higher walk percentage (19.7) than Harper's (18.6). Harper also sits second in intentional walks, tied with Manny Machado.

And his contact rates have largely lived up to expectation. Harper's 10.6 percent soft contact entering Tuesday is tied for sixth-best in the majors.

So, if it's not his nerves relative to free agency, and it's not a reduction in his hard contact or mammoth power, Boras proposes it's something else: the defensive shift.

Boras railed against shifts over the weekend, referring to them as "discriminatory" against left-handed batters, and he's returning to that idea in reference to his top client, blaming extreme shifts for hindering Harper's production. He says it's impacting lefties more severely than right-handers, and that it isn't fair.

"I don't think it's good for the game," Boras said. "It's clear that hard-hit balls have almost 100 to 150 points lower average for left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters for exit velocities above 93 mph. When you see stats like that, you know there's reason for change. The game should be equal for both sides whether you're a right or left-handed hitter."