By all accounts, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is healthy, which makes his offensive performance this season puzzling. The big slugger has yet to find his power stroke 16 games into the season.
Howard went 3 for 4 Thursday against the Cardinals to raise his batting averaging to .274, but all three hits went for singles. Howard does not have an extra-base hit in any of his last four games, and he has just five in 62 at-bats.
Howard has also walked just three times, with 16 strikeouts. His .690 on-base plus slugging percentage would be the lowest of his career, just ahead of the .718 mark he posted in an injury-riddled 2012 campaign.