This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Bryce Harper did two things this season that few could have predicted:

• He returned from Tommy John surgery more than two months earlier than the Phillies estimated.

• He learned to play first base in just a few weeks.

Harper will not be NL MVP this year. It will be Ronald Acuña Jr. or Mookie Betts, and understandably so. Both had incredible seasons. But Harper should get MVP votes on more than a few 10-player ballots, especially when you consider his recovery from Tommy John surgery, his ability to play a solid first base and his typically elite offensive production.

Harper batted .293 with 21 home runs, 72 RBIs, a .900 OPS and 146 OPS+ in 546 plate appearances this year. He posted a 1.004 OPS since July 15. He has a 1.149 OPS in his 40 games entering Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday night against Miami left-hander Jesús Luzardo.

“If you look at his year, he really didn’t have a Spring Training,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He actually started off fairly good [in May] and then there’s a fatigue factor that sets in. And then when the fatigue sets in, sometimes you change your swing. It’s a confidence thing so he’s got to work through all those things. And finally he got it. I think he went from smothering balls at one point to lofting balls. Once he starts lofting balls, it’s a good sign that his swing is headed in the right direction. All in all, you look at his numbers, they’re pretty good for five months, four and a half months, whatever he played. I’m glad he’s back.”