Nats' Bryce Harper not surprised by fast start: 'I've done it before'

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper is one of the hottest hitters in the game through the early portion of the season, leading the majors in walks (30) and runs (29), and ranking second in on-base-plus-slugging percentage (1.119), home runs (12) and RBI (31).

Washington hitting coach Rick Schu said he's never seen a run like Harper in his 34 years in baseball. Yet somehow, the 22-year-old Harper doesn't appear to be too surprised by his red-hot power surge to start the season, per the Washington Post.

"I've done it before," Harper said. "I'm not saying that to be cocky at all, but I'm saying that I want to do that again. I don't want that to be the last time I do it.

"This is what I was like in high school and college," Harper said. "That’s what people don’t understand. I was healthy. Staying healthy is what I need to do. This is the type of player I need to be and the type of player I want to be. Everybody talks about how I'm doing this different or I'm doing that different. There's nothing different. It's staying healthy and staying in the lineup. Truly.

" ... I know it is way different here than in college and high school but if you look at all the stats I had in college and high school, they were absurd because I was in the lineup every single day. I played every day. I played year-round. I had the reps, I had the stuff, and I was never hurt. I was never hurt at all."

Harper had two four-homer games while at the College of Southern Nevada, where he hit 31 homers in one 66-game season in 2010. Harper notched his first three-homer game earlier in May, and is hitting .500 (14 for 28) with 12 runs scored, three doubles, seven homers, 16 RBI and seven walks over his last eight games played.

He's also showing more patience at the plate. Last season he drew 38 walks in 395 plate appearances (100 games). This season he has an MLB-best 33 walks in 156 plate appearances (36 games).