http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/mlbrank100_matzharper/mlbrank-slow-naming-bryce-harper-legend

#MLBRank: Slow down before naming Bryce Harper a legend

In case you haven't noticed, the legend of Harper isn't going according to plan in 2016. Oh, he started the season well enough in defense of his MVP crown. Sure, you could argue that he didn't deserve to be named National League Player of the Month for April (see: Arenado, Nolan). But you can't argue that Harper -- with his 9 home runs, 24 RBIs and 1.120 OPS during that first month -- didn't come out of the gate mashing. But that was then, and this is now.

Since April 27, Harper is hitting just .231 with a .378 slugging percentage. His average ranks 149th out of 159 qualified major leaguers over that time, and his slugging ranks 130th. Even when Harper isn't getting hits, his prolific plate discipline -- he set a franchise record with 124 walks last season and walked 45 times in his first 39 games this year -- has a huge impact on the game. But since May 19, he has drawn a relatively human 27 free passes in 50 games. During that time, his .347 on-base percentage puts him firmly in the middle of the pack (38th out of 82 NL players).

On one hand, maybe it's just a slump. A really extended, nearly half-season slump that's about to end. Maybe Harper's on the verge of busting out and going on a tear that will have his average north of .300 come October, and we'll all look back and say, "See, we knew it was just a matter of time."

On the other hand, maybe what we're seeing this year is the real Bryce Harper. Maybe the .270-something that he hit in each of his first three seasons is more like the rule, and last year's video game numbers were the exception. If that's the case, then the slash line we're seeing offensively from Harper in 2016 (.252/.394/.477) is roughly equivalent to what we can expect in the years to come. For the record, it's also roughly equivalent to what Joey Votto is doing this season. And with all due respect to Votto -- who, like Harper, is a former MVP -- his name doesn't appear anywhere on our top-100 list.

Just because Harper put up one monster year doesn't mean we should automatically grant him the keys to the kingdom. Slow your roll. Let him do it a few more times before we exalt him to "top 100 in the history of a sport that has been in existence for nearly two centuries" status.