This a sentence I never thought I’d write coming into this season; Ryan Howard has actually been playing well. Since the All-Star Break, only Cesar Hernandez and Carlos Ruiz have created more WAR for the Phillies than Howard. Howard leads the team in wOBA (Weighted On-Base Average) in the second half at .473.
Starting off the year, Ryan Howard looked downright awful. He had a below-average April with a 74 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus), then really hit rock-bottom in May. Howard batted just .101 that month, striking out more than 37.